Fifteen Greatest Film Series'

Lately I've been downloading some movies and I really forgot about a number of amazing films series.

I love a good trilogy or series because it allows you to become far more connected with the characters than in a one off film. Occasionally you are able to follow one epic story over the course of a series that could not be appropriately told in a shorter period of time. I thought I would throw out some of my favourite movie series. Feel free to comment your own, these are definitely just a list of my own favourites. Let me reface this list by saying this is not in any particular order, just as they are coming to mind.

1. James Bond 007 series. This is a no-brainer if you've read my 007 post from last year. Definitely one of the most iconic action heroes whose adventures span the globe, who reputation is always sterling and who always takes his martini shaken not stirred.

2. The Matrix Trilogy. Definitely a huge deal in the early 00's, the story of Neo, Morpheus, Trinity and Agent Smith is a modern classic. A story of good and evil and humanity's fight against extermination against machines. Definitely an interesting metaphor for the grip technology holds on us, definitely more evident now more than ever.

3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Probably my favourite movie saga. Frodo's quest to destroy the one ring was wrought with epic battles, great friendships and betrayals. One of the things I like best about these films is the cast, every actor was such a good fit for the character he was portraying. I expect these movies will be remade in my life time...could it ever be as good as the first time?

4. Terminator series. Another great story of man fighting against machine. A great story of technology we creating turning against us. You are a liar if you've never said, "I'll be back." Arnold does an amazing job in the first three films and the fourth is worth watching but definitely vastly different from what had happened in the original trilogy.

5. Die Hard series. The original Die Hard is one of, if not the best action films of all time. Bruce Willis as the wise-cracking NYPD detective John McClane is iconic, as is his awesome tagline from the first movie "yippee ki yay motherfucker!" Rumour has it that Bruce wants to end the series with a sixth film, the fifth is scheduled to start filming next year.

6. Rambo series. A theme of some of these series seems to be an original trilogy then a fourth many years after the third. The Rambo films are in that category, definitely action classics, the original Rambo being the best as is also a trend.

7. Rocky series. Silvester Stallone again in a huge series that spans four decades. The Philly never-say-never boxer with no-name Rocky Balboa fights in six installments. Once you watch one you have to watch the whole series to follow the dynamic character through his up's and down's even though none of the films reach the greatness achieved by the first film.

8. The Godfather Trilogy. A film series that I fear will not be relevant to the next generation. These classics are probably considered the best film trilogy ever made. Al Pacino is incredible in these movies and without a doubt immortalizes himself in the hearts and minds of all who have watched these movies. Any movie where a decapitated horse head ends up in a guy's bed while he's sleeping is bound to be great.

9. The Man With No Name trilogy. Clint Eastwood stars in these three westerns about "the man with no name." The classic "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly," is the legendary finale to this epic story.

10. Star Wars series. The first trilogy in this series was actually chronologically after the second trilogy. The original three spawned a pop culture spin off in every media outlet and a multi-billion dollar franchise. Although the second trilogy falls well short of the first three films these are definitely worth a watch both chronologically and in the order they came out.

11. Jurassic Park trilogy. Steven Spielberg directs these movies that take place in a fantasy world in which dinosaurs have been cloned and exist in our time. Based upon the Michael Crichton novels these films have a cool factor that movies without dinosaurs just can't match.

12. Austin Powers trilogy. The first comedy movies on the list, these movies are friggin' hilarious! Mike Myers absolutely rules as the "king of shag" in these films where some of the funniest scenes include him starring opposite himself.

13. Mission Impossible trilogy. Tom Cruise as super-agent Ethan Hawk is returning to the silver screen next year in a fourth film. Each film is vastly different from each other and definitely sets a different tone. All three are great fun to watch.

14. The Bourne Trilogy. Three films based on fantastic novels written by thriller legend, Robert Ludlum. Matt Damon plays Jason Bourne, an ex CIA assassin and agent as he struggles to dig up his dark past. true fans of this series pray that the god awful books written after Ludlum's death never make it onto the big screen.

15. Alien/Predator series. I was going to go with just Alien but the amalgamated AVP films were great in their own right. Although probably receiving more of a cult following than the rest of the films on this list, all the Alien and Predator movies have been a staple of my movie diet.

Did I miss your favourite? All the films I've talked about should make it onto your "must-see" list if they are not already there or have no been there for years already. Settle yourself down on a rainy day and spend some time Fearless Reader.