Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve decided to make another dent in my list of movies to watch and to rewatch some old faves. In addition to watching 7 of the 8 Tarantino movies (I had already seen "Pulp Fiction"), the "Lord of the Rings" Extended Trilogy, the original "Spider-Man" Trilogy, and "The Dark Knight" Trilogy, I’ve also kept myself busy with all of these. Though not part of an iconic series, they’re all well worth a watch!

1. "Dances With Wolves"

I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect to like this one. Last summer I made it a point to watch every Best Picture winner from 2000 to the present day. This summer, whilst browsing the all-time list of winners, it occurred to me that I might as well watch all of the winners from the 90’s since I just happened to have seen six of the ten already. This movie won for 1990 and I can understand why. It follows the story of a Union soldier (Kevin Costner) during the Civil War who chooses to be posted in the far west so that he can explore the frontier before it’s gone. While out there by himself, he befriends a nearby Sioux tribe of Native Americans. He begins to develop an identity within this tribe, falls in love with a woman, and soon finds himself wrapped up in the conflicts of the tribe with other Native Americans as well as his own people. Though it’s four hours long, if you break it up, it is well worth the watch and will definitely pull on some heart strings.

2. "Hot Fuzz"

The second part of director Edgar Wright’s "Cornetto Trilogy", a trilogy of unrelated movies that all feature Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in the lead roles, follows an exemplary city police officer (Simon Pegg) who is reassigned to a small town because his exceptional skills make the rest of his department look bad. He soon discovers, however, that this “perfect” small town is being plagued by a serial killer who’s been getting off because he makes all of his murders look like accidents.

Though branded as a comedy, I personally found this more interesting as a mystery. The humor is definitely more geared toward British people, but I did get a chuckle here and there. One cool thing about Edgar Wright’s comedies is that they don’t fully rely on dialogue like American comedies. He has a way of incorporating jokes into the visual style that can only be described as brilliant. I could write an entire article on that alone but here’s a video if you’re curious about what I mean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FOzD4Sfgag

3. "Planet Terror"

Even though I watch "The Walking Dead", I’m pretty sure this is the only real zombie apocalypse movie I’ve ever seen. That being said, it blew my socks off. Packed with epic action sequences, compelling characters, a few moments of horror, and occasional comedic relief, "Planet Terror" makes me want to explore other movies in this genre.

4. "Schindler’s List"

Undoubtedly one of the greatest films I have ever seen, "Schindler’s List" was difficult to watch at some points and rightfully so. Director Steven Spielberg masterfully tells the moving story of an entrepreneur who hired Jews during the Holocaust for the sole purpose of protecting them. Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes put forth some of the strongest performances I have ever seen and by the end of the film I was on the verge of tears. No wonder it won Best Picture in 1993. Everyone needs to see this movie. Period.

5. "Scott Pilgrim V. The World"

Another Edgar Wright comedy, "Scott Pilgrim V. The World" details the story of a young adult (Michael Cera) who has feelings for a mysterious girl. When he begins pursuing her, he discovers that she has seven evil exes that he must defeat before he can be with her. I quite liked the action sequences in this one as well as all of the characters. They’re all varying types of awkward which was especially relatable for me.

6. "Shaun of the Dead"

The first part of Edgar Wright’s “Cornetto Trilogy” follows average guy Shaun (Simon Pegg) as his world is turned upside down by a zombie apocalypse. Joined by his friends, they work to survive the new world and it turns into a comedy of errors. I would consider this more of a parody than an actual zombie apocalypse movie. At times I found the survival aspects more interesting than the jokes, but again it’s a British comedy so not every quip landed for me.

7. "The English Patient"

Best Picture Winner for 1996, "The English Patient" chronicles the story of a hospital patient during WWII who’s lost his memory. As his memory starts to come back to him, the audience learns that the protagonist may not be as admirable as he seems. Though it takes place during WWII, the story is more of a drama/ romance. The protagonist falls in love with his friend’s wife and vice versa which leads to several conflicts that ultimately drive the story. Ralph Fiennes gives another excellent performance in addition to Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliette Binoche. I’d recommend this one for anyone who’s in the mood for a lite war drama and has just under 3 hours to spare.

8. "The Shawshank Redemption"

Everyone loves "The Shawshank Redemption". Listed as the number 1 movie on IMDB, this story follows a man (Tim Robbins) who is falsely accused of murdering his wife and her extramarital lover. He is then imprisoned in Shawshank, a prison full of abusive guards and prisoners alike. He develops a friendship with Red (Morgan Freeman) who helps him survive the harsh conditions of the prison and gain the respect of the other inmates and the authority figures. This heartwarming story of redemption, heroism, and justice is a timeless classic that makes for quality viewing anytime.

9. "The Social Network"

I’d seen this movie before, however, it was before I knew it was written by Aaron Sorkin, one of my favorite screenwriters, and directed by David Fincher, one of my favorite directors. So I re-watched it for the first time in years and appreciated it so much more. Fincher’s visual style is brilliant and makes for great emotional engagement while Sorkin’s dialogue provides profound character insight and gripping drama. Though not completely accurate as far as the history of Facebook is concerned, "The Social Network" is very entertaining.

10. "The World’s End"

How apt that this should be the last movie; it’s also the last movie in the aforementioned “Cornetto trilogy”. It follows a group of adult men who set out to complete a challenge they failed in high school. Their local town has a dozen bars and they attempted to have a pint of beer at each one before arriving at The World’s End, the final bar. However, whilst on this journey as adults several years later, they discover that everyone in the town seems different, and everything may not be as it seems.

In my opinion, this was the funniest of the Cornetto Trilogy even though, again, at times the action sequences felt more entertaining than the comedy. Nonetheless, like the others, it is still a pretty good movie and I’d recommend it if you enjoy comedies full of drunken shenanigans.