Not my favorite genre, movie wise, but on my mind at the moment-again, not in order but at the top.

10. The Shootist- John Wayne's final movie, and one of his best.

9. Riders of the Purple Sage- the newer version.

8. Quigley Down Under- it qualifies in my mind, and as I have said before, I love Tom Selleck.

7. Fort Apache- another great one with the Duke.

6. Support Your Local Sherriff- forget Blazing Saddles, this was the great comedy western.

5. Stagecoach- the first great western and the one that made the Duke a star.

4. Maverick- I loved Gibson, Foster, and Garner, and all of the cameos. Another example of it aint over until its over.

3. True Grit- the one the Duke one the Oscar for, but not even his best movie.

2. The Outlaw Josie Wales- forget all of Clint's other westerns- this was the best.

1. The Searchers- this is the one the Duke should have won the Oscar for. He played a character against type and gave the greatest performance of his career in a brutally honest depiction of life at the time. Well deserved to be called the best.

Got your attention with that one, huh? Usually this will be lists, but I had to take a break to mention one of the most original thrillers I have read in years, Kill Me, by Stephen White. It is technically a part of his Allan Gregory series (one that just missed the previous list of great characters), but only peripherally. While it is made up of elements that have all been done before, it puts a totally original spin on them. A must read. And for the Christian people who look at these- he has little language and virtually no sex in his books, so I highly recommend it from that standpoint as well.

This is going to be heavily influenced by who my favorite authors are, as anyone comparing lists could tell. A couple of authors will even have more than one. Not in order but at the top.

10. Alex Cross, written by James Patterson- wouldve finished higher, but it seems the series is just not as good as it used to be.

9. Dirk Pitt, by Clive Cussler- another series that slipped in the standings somewhat, but is still worth reading.

8. Jesse Stone, by Robert B. Parker- it wouldve been higher, if there were more than five books out so far. Look for the great movies CBS is making of these books with one of my favorites, Tom Selleck, as Jesse Stone.

7. Joanna Brady, by JA Jance- a remarkable woman, both as a sherrif and a mom, and the series just keeps getting better and better.

6. Harry Bosch, by Michael Connoley- the third best cop series out there, mainly because of Harry. I hope he stays on the "closers" in future books.

5. Hawk, by Robert B. Parker- I dont care if he doesnt have his own series (except on TV for one season). He is a remarkable character when matched with the next one.

4. Spenser, by Robert B. Parker- He and Hawk are almost inseperable. Spenser is the true inheritor to Sam Spade, etc.

3. The Women's Murder Club, by James Patterson- I started to put the main character's name here, Lindsey Boxer, because she tells the story in the first person, but this seemed more fair.

2. Lucas Davenport, by John Sandford- Sandford is still the best thriller writer out there, and Lucas is the main reason. A rogue cop at times, he was once described in the fictional press as Minnesota's legal serial killer, because so many bad guys wound up dead. I just love the true depth of character given to him.

1. Burke, by Andrew Vachss- I think he is truely the most original character in any series out there. He is badder as a protaganist than a lot of people's good guys.

not necessarily in order

10. Final Destination 2- interesting concept, and the second was way better than the first.

9. The Faculty- a description I have read calls it The Breakfast Club meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers- a perfect description.

8. Them- too many times watching this classic about giant ants when I was a kid leaves me hating ants to this day.

7. Urban Legend- I dont care what people think about this choice- it was actually a pretty good mystery, with inventive uses of urban legends to kill people.

6. Halloween- the incredible movie by John Carpenter that launched both the sex and slash genre and Jamie Lee Curtis' career.

5. Frankenstien- one of AFI's greatest movies, but not even the best of the old horror classics.

4. Frankenstien meets the Wolf Man- the best monster team up of them all.

3. Nightmare on Elm Street- the Wes Craven classic that took the sex and slash genre to the supernatural and scientific level- another original.

2. Scream- what can I say, I just loved this movie. It created the genre of self aware horror films and was a great mystery as well. Too bad the second one didnt live up to it, but the third was a blast as well.

1. The Wolf Man- Im not sure why this Lon Chaney classic stands out for me over all of the others, except that it was so brilliantly written, with exceptional performances by Chaney and Claude Rains.

I could have said, best sci fi, but they all would have come in this category. It is my favorite type of Sci fi. I had to include tv because at times, star trek elevated this to an art form. I apologize that I wont always remember titles with tv episodes. Not in order except at the top.

10. Time Cop- ok, so it was a Van Damme movie, but the story about changing time was incredible.

9. Time Machine- some would prefer the Rod Steiger version, but I loved the remake of a few years ago.

8. All Good Things..., Star Trek TNG- would have placed higher, except I thought the future version of the crew was terrible. Great story though.

7. The Philadelphia Experiment- a cult favorite that involves a subject that always fascinated me- what really happened to that Navy ship in 1943?

6. The Voyager episode where seven of nine keeps getting pulled out of time to save Janeway from a temporal assasin- first of a couple of episodes on here.

5. The time travel storyline on Enterprise- one of a few bright spots in an otherwise dismal show.

4. A Year in Hell, from ST Voyager- if you havent seen it, you must. Just an incredible story with a great ending.

3. Time after Time- a not very well known film with Malcolm McDowell playing a hero for a change- HG Wells. It has a somewhat convoluted beginning with one of his friends to whom he shows his time machine being Jack the Ripper, who steals it and goes to then modern day (1984) LA. Wells chases him into the future and into an awesome story.

2. The DS9 episode where you see Jake Sisko as an old man telling the story of his life to a young author, starting with what appears to be the death of his father. Ok, Im a softy- the ending always makes me cry. In one poll, it was voted the greatest Star Trek episode ever- who am I to argue?

1. The Terminator movies- the third wasnt as good as the first two, except the ending, which brought it all full circle. Even without Arnold, Id love to see more. A great time travel storyline.