10 movies you absolutely have to see on a priority basis.

I've been planning on making a list of movies you must watch since last year, but never got around to doing it. Here it goes, 10 movies you absoloutely-have-to-see-at-any-cost-urgently-because-they're-so-goddamn-good, in no particular order:

1. Silence of the Lambs: Watch it for Anthony Hopkins. Watch it for Buffalo Bill. Watch it. Its so weird, its so brilliant and it'll scare the living daylights out of you. Ask one of your friends to watch it too, so that you can discuss different elements of the movie that you might have missed out on. 
2. Notting Hill: While making the list, I knew that I wanted a Julia Roberts movie on the list, but I just couldn't decide on which one. Eric Brockowich is great too, and so is Pretty Woman, but Notting Hill is the mother of feel-good movies. And more than anything else, I kept on gawking at the London streets. 
3. The Pianist: I've seen a bunch of holocaust movies, but none of them had that impact on me that The Pianist did. The entire journey of Wladyslaw Szpilman played by Adrien Brody gave me gossebumps. I used to think of Roman Polanski as an average director at best before.. but that changed and how after watching this movie. Watch The Pianist because this is cinema at its depressing but enlightening best. When you finish watching the movie, you don't feel sad, instead, you get this spirit that no matter what, there's going to be light at the end of the tunnel. 
4. Bridesmaids: I know its almost criminal to put Silence of the Lambs and Bridesmaids on the same list, but hey! I never said that I was telling you to watch movies that were classics. So, Bridesmaids is undoubtedly the funniest movie I've ever seen. Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Mellisa McCarthy make you laugh so much that you find yourself gasping for air. Its cheap, tacky humour mostly, but its unbelievably funny, and that's a big thing coming from me, considering how I've sat through 20 Adam Sandler movies with a straight face. 
5. The Birds: Alfred Hitchock at his terrifying best. The movie frightens you with its strangeness. Why were the birds attacking? I guess we'll never know. If you're in the mood for a 1960s movie, watch The Birds. Its almost funny to see how cinema struggled before CGI, but the emotion of fear that Hitchcock brings out is amazing. A little did-you-know: Hitchcock did not write the words "The End" during the final credits of the movie because he wanted the viewers to feel like the fear did not end, he wanted them to know that the fear will stay on. Amazing, right?
6. Matchpoint: Like Julia Roberts, I wanted a Woody Allen movie on the list, and had a tough time choosing between all the amazing movies, but I went with Matchpoint because it kept me on the edge of my seat till the very last scene. Partially that, and partially because it has Scarlett Johansson ;)
7. Requiem for a Dream: Brilliance on celluloid. RFAD stays with you for months, if not years, after watching it. Its not a movie for the faint hearted. You must prepare yourself fo the ride of a lifetime before you start watching. Its about 4 individuals and how drugs affect their lives (for lack of a better.. sentence). 
8. Amelie: Its set in Paris and it has the most delicious camera work ever. Its a French movie, so prepare to read subtitles. Amelie screams cuteness, quirkiness and amazingness. Think: the lovechild of Stanley Kubrick and Nora Ephron. Its a simple story about a very complex girl. You want to watch it over and over again, because its that good. 
9. Julie & Julia: I saw it 3 years ago in a flight and I've watched it 20 times ever since. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams playing Julia Child and Julie Powell. The movie switches between 1950s Europe and 2000s New York City and it shows the lives of the two women through the years. You see some delicious food on the screen and some amazing acting by Meryl Streep. 
10. The Shining: I wanted to conclude the list with someone as brilliant as Stanley Kubrick, so I did. The Shining is just beyond brilliant. Its a whole new genre, whole new kind of cinema. Jack Nicholson gives the performance of a lifetime. It gives you an eerie feeling up and down your spine, with the very very big and spooky Overlook Hotel. With just 3 characters in a big haunted hotel, insanity and spook follow. Strongly recommended.