Top 10 American cities and the movies that best represent them

1. New Orleans - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Accurately depicts the city through a century of change from a cosmopolitan center of commerce to a city on the brink of antediluvian ruin.

2. Washington D.C. - No Way Out. Surprisingly, DC was a difficult city for this exercise. There are very few movies I can think of that show the city as a character. When the city does play a role, it's almost always Congress or the White House that gets all the attention. At least No Way Out shows a bit more.

3. New York - 25th Hour. So many great films from which to choose. This post-9/11 film shows a nice cross section of the city without trying too hard to include all the boroughs.

4. Philadelphia - Rocky II. It's got to be one of the Rocky movies, and IMO, it's between I and II. II shows the city hospital, so I give it the edge.

5. Boston - Mystic River. Much more authentic than the rubbage Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have forced on us about their visions of rough and tumble, blue collared Boston.

6. Chicago - The Weather Man. This little appreciated early 2000s film does an excellent job balancing scenes from the city with scenes from the suburbs. While some may nominate a John Hughes film, his films lean heavily on the suburbs, leaving out city life.

7. Seattle - Singles. More a selection of necessity. I struggled to think of anything besides You've Got Mail, Say Anything, and Disclosure, none of which accurately depict life in the city.

8. Los Angeles - Pretty Woman. Let me preface this by saying L.A. is not a great city. It's one of the worst American cities, lacking class, culture and interest. I include it in this list only because it has had so many films based there.

9. Detroit - 8 Mile. A true Salem's lot, 8 Mile shows a decaying place and gives it a jolt of life. I guess I'll put Detroit in this slot, but where are jumbos Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas? Such cultureless centers, not even Hollywood wants to depict those soulless concrete sinkholes.

10. Astoria - The Goonies. One of the great small city movies, the film beautifully shows 1980s American youth and their home. The city is at once prominent yet inconspicuous -- one of the only such times I've seen a city achieve this dichotomy in film.

Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta are pretty pathetic.