Top 5 Lists

I love Top 5 lists. It's a shame that I haven't posted one yet in the 2+ months since I started this blog. Anyway, my love of Top 5 lists probably started around the time I first saw the film High Fidelity. In that film, John Cusack plays a record store owner who constantly makes lists with his employees. The film's plot, in fact, is centered around one particular Top 5 list. After seeing that film, my friends and I took up the practice. My best friend, Mr. Justin Betts, has a blog and it is an excellent example of the awesomeness of Top 5 lists.

I've found the best time and place for listmaking is on a roadtrip with your friends. My past roadtrips to Denver, Seattle, Vegas (a couple times), Portland, Colorado Springs, etc. were full of lists. Listmaking keeps the conversation energetic and interesting, and it's a good way to learn things about your friends you might not have known before. Not only that, but making Top 5 lists always keeps me awake. Once while driving at night, I felt myself getting drowsy. I quickly called a Top 5 session into being, and I was wide awake until we reached our destination. Top 5 lists save lives.

The most recent roadtrip Top 5 session came two weeks ago as a group of people from my ward decided to go see the Manti Temple pageant. Two cars full of people made the trip. On the trip back after the pageant, one car suffered a fairly boring trip home. There wasn't much conversation, some folks watched part of a movie, and they began succombing to sleep over time. The other car, however, had a riotous return trip, full of laughter and loud, happy conversation. They were making Top 5 lists. Guess which car I was in? That trip back was pretty much amazing, and it was the perfect end to a very fun trip. I like to think the Top 5 lists had a lot to do with the awesomeness.

I've made a mid-year resolution, not really, to start posting more lists. Justin and I have been texting Top 5 lists back and forth, and reading Justin's blog has inspired me to repent. Anyway, here's a list to kick things off.

Top 5 Weeder Films, a.k.a Films to Separate the Wheat From the Chaff

(By way of explanation, these are films that I have or would consider using to test someone, to see how they react to a work of art that is meaningful and has created significant emotional experiences in my life, and their response to said film would likely influence or alter the way I feel about or towards them. Maybe I'm just superficial, but that's how I am).

In no particular order:
1. New York Doll
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Children of Men
4. Million Dollar Baby
5. Waiting for Guffman