I thought that maybe doing favorite albums and movies in the same month was just asking to prove myself wrong and realize I’d made a grave mistake, but I was able to think of my top ten favorite movies in about four seconds, so I feel like I might be on the money with these. And did I also put them in favorite order? HECK YEAH I DID.

Whenever someone asks that age-old question, “If you were stranded on a desert island, and you could only bring three books, what would you bring?” I’m usually that asshole that says, “Well, I’ll just bring the omnibus of LOTR, so then I have two other books to choose.” And that’s kind of how I feel about choosing my favorite movies, but if I had to choose one LOTR, we all know it’d be The Two Towers. There’s a lot of reasons: Helm’s Deep, Rohan, Sam’s speech, Legolas & Gimli’s friendship, Aragorn becoming even more kingly, I could go on forever. But this one is definitely my favorite of the movies, and possibly my favorite of the books. Stay tuned.

What is it about? At the brink of the last great war of Middle-earth, everything is finally coming to a head–elves and men fight alongside one another, Ents turn their focus to Isengard, and Frodo & Sam finally set their sights on the last leg of their journey. (That was the worst summary ever, wow.)

Does The Martian still stress me out even though I’ve watched it half a dozen times? Of course it does! Have you seen that ending! I always think Mark’s going to end up dead! My mom: “You know how it’s going to end! Why are you crying?!” I have a long-standing crush on Matt Damon, and I’m stupidly obsessed with space, so to put those two things together and put it on Mars, well. That’s pretty much it for me. I love this movie so much, I really don’t know how to put it into words, and the best part is honestly that it’s just as good as the book.

What is it about? After a freak dust storm on Mars, botanist Mark Watney is stranded on the planet and must find a way to survive long enough for Earth to rescue him.

If you’re surprised The Old Guard made it onto this list after only releasing a few months ago, you clearly haven’t been paying attention to the fact that I watched three times in three weeks. Honestly, at the time of drafting this, I’ve been craving it so bad that I might have watched it one or two more times by the time this posts. I knew, right from the beginning, that this was going to be one of my favorite movies, and that fact was just solidified with the second and third watch. This is truly a masterpiece, and if you don’t believe this small review, here’s the longer review I wrote for it because I love it that much.

What is it about? Five immortals must take on their most dangerous battle yet–the inability to remain anonymous in modern times.

I told myself that I was allowed to pick one Marvel movie, and even though I desperately wanted to include a Captain America & Amazing Spiderman movie on here, it had to be The Avengers. When I say that I had been waiting my entire life for this movie, I’m not exaggerating even a little. My dad raised me on superheroes, and being able to see these legends from my childhood on the big screen and adapted so well was honestly a dream come true. And while I have a lot of issues with the sequels to the first Avengers, there’s not a single thing that I don’t wholeheartedly love about the first one.

What is it about? Six superheroes form an unlikely team to defeat an alien threat to Earth.

I am never going to forget the first time I saw Wonder Woman. Being able to witness a women-led film, both on and off screen, is one of the highlights of my life. Being able to witness Diana running into battle in practical clothes with thighs that shake and not always pretty facial expressions just makes me feel so seen. If for nothing else than the moment that she tosses aside her coat and steps out onto no-man’s-land to help turn the tide of the war, this movie is going to stand amongst my favorites for a long damn time. The music, the film itself, and Diana Prince are so powerful, and I’m going to feel their collective impact for the rest of my life.

What is it about? An Amazonian woman with superpowers leaves the safety of her sheltered island in order to protect the Earth from the threat of an angry and power-hungry god.

P.S. I Love You is entirely to blame for my absurd love of all things Irish. It existed prior to this movie, but it was made even worse by it. And don’t even get me started on Hillary Swank–she was not on my radar before this, and now she’s one of my favorite actresses. And, somehow, though the movie will absolutely shred your heart to pieces, the book is even sadder! This is truly one of the most magical, romantic stories I’ve ever seen, and I love it so, so much. Gerard Butler in suspenders and high socks singing about love is going to kill me forever.

What is it about? After the death of her husband, Holly thinks she’ll never be able to move on–until a letter arrives in the mail promising life after death.

When I was in high school, all I wanted for prom was to wear Keira Knightley’s dress in Atonement. Given that we have VERY different bodies, it was an unlikely dream, but I found something that was similar enough (not really, it was just the same shade of forest green) to make me happy. Gods, this movie. THIS BOOK. This hurts my soul in so many different ways, and I want to personally thank it for doing so. James McAvoy is a gift, and to pair him with Keira Knightley in a period drama is just SO GOOD, thank you eternally. The cinematography is perhaps my favorite piece about this movie because the whole thing is just endlessly gorgeous.

What is it about? When a jealous younger sister tells a terrible lie and wrongfully imprisons her sister’s lover, war breaks out and separates them forever.

Chris Evans is, without a shadow of a doubt, my favorite actor of all time. I’ve watched literally everything he’s ever been in, and I will continue to love him long into my next life. He’s a superb human being, an incredibly talented actor, and, somehow, I managed to choose my favorite of his movies. It was a hard decision between Gifted and Snowpiercer, but the fact that he gets to do his stupid laugh, weep a little, and be a dad in Gifted was a clear winner for me. I need him to be in more films like this forever, please and thank you. Oh, and Mckenna Grace? We’re going to see this child winning hella crazy awards someday.

What is it about? When his sister dies, Frank decides to raise her daughter away from the insane life of a math prodigy that killed his sister.

Bright Star is one of those movies that punches me in the gut every damn time. We’ve all had a good cry every once in a while, but I think the cry that Fanny has in this movie is one that only comes around few and far between. The kind of cry where you can’t breathe, where everything feels like it’s ending, where your whole body has just been torn apart. And not only is that a rare kind of cry, but it sounds so incredibly difficult to act on command, and yet, Abbie Cornish managed to do exactly that. And though I love this movie both because it’s about Keats and because I adore Ben Whishaw, Abbie is what sells it for me. She delivers such a marvelous performance, and she makes my whole being yearn for love.

What is it about? A young poet falls in love with a young seamstress, and though their love is doomed by the trappings of their time, they fight desperately for one another.

Look, I KNOW The Social Network is a weird movie to list in my top favorites, but given the amount of times I’ve seen it and how much it riles me up, it makes sense for me. And in picking my favorite Andrew Garfield movie, if I couldn’t have Amazing Spiderman, it has to be this. I haven’t seen a lot of his later films, so this may change eventually, and it was so hard for me not to choose Never Let Me Go, but there’s just something about The Social Network that gets to me. And Andrew doesn’t even play the MC, but I love his role so much, and, beyond that, I love Jesse’s role, I love getting to see the creation of that hell site, and I love how chaotic and weird this movie is at times.

What is your favorite movie of all time?