Tuesday, 16 June 2015

My top 10 movies of all time

I love movies, and without sounding at all pretentious, I consider the experience of going to a cinema to be one of my favourite things to actually do. I love the idea of escaping from reality, of looking into another world of storytelling. For me, good cinema is a reminder that you're not in a theatre.

I have never really thought about what my favourite movies of all time were, until my brother asked me while we were watching Jurassic Park. So after a bit of thinking I came up with my list. Aside from the first two on the list, the rest are interchangeable, depending on how I feel. Some would most likely appear on most other peoples lists, some are technically great movies, others are just ones that I like personally. But each of them have one thing in common, I can always watch them no matter what mood I'm in.

So in a very short summary, here's my list.



1.Blade Runner:
Image result for blade runner
Serious science fiction very rarely works for me, often coming across as self indulgent and pretentious, full of ideas but no emotion. But Blade Runner is different, it asks serious questions about humanity, in particular its relationship with artificial intelligence. The visual photography, outstanding for their time, still hold up well to this day.

There is also the masterful soundtrack by Vangelis, which elevates the film even further. Listening to 'Love Theme' instantly transcends your thoughts to somewhere else.

And to this day, I still haven't seen anything as powerful as the opening shot to this film, and 'The Tears in the Rain' speech at the end of the movie. Simply sublime, and soulful.

Art on screen.

2.
Rear Window
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If ever there is a movie to showcase Hitchcock's genius film-making , it is Rear Window. Which is strange because outside of film nerds, Rear Window is often forgotten amongst Hitchcock's other movies such as 'Psycho' and 'Birds'.

Full of suspense and mystery, watching Rear Window is like turning the pages of a book you just can't put down. No movie has captured an assemble of interplaying characters within the same plot quite like this.

3.
RoboCop
Image result for robocop 1987
An old childhood favourite of mine, and one that will forever hold up.

Not only is the action hard hitting and raw, underneath all of it is an action movie with substance, and a real social message about the extremities of neo-liberal economics.

'Dead or alive you're coming with me'.

4.
The Sixth Sense
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Everyone knows it for that twist, and boy was it a great twist. It was also genuinely scary, and it was a ghost story which was character driven as much as it was story driven. Which is very rare in a movie.

The logic and the story can be questioned on repeat viewings, but I think it's a testament to the film not a detriment.

5.
Christmas Vacation
Image result for christmas vacation
The greatest Christmas film of all time, and possibly the greatest comedy of all time. Even if you only watched this film once every year, it will forever be hilarious. There's an endless list of classic scenes.
It's a rare Christmas movie which is good, and a rare comedy which is better than its predecessors.

That moment where Clark Griswald gets pissed at the lights not coming on is worth seeing just by itself.

6.
Rocky
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If the movie industry wasn't entirely about economics, the first Rocky film should have been the only one in the series ever made. Before it was then turned into a parody of itself, and then to some degree redeeming itself in the end.

Rocky's great because it's the ultimate underdog story, the outsider who went against the odds and won. It really is inspirational.

But beneath it all, is a story of love and family, of belonging somewhere and not letting go, no matter what.

I could watch this film everyday for the rest of my life and still enjoy it.

Adrian why you wanna fight?
Rocky Because I can't sing or dance.

7.
Alien
Image result for alien poster wiki
Arguably the greatest monster novie in history. And it is in my opinion the only truly great entry in the series.

While tame by today's standards, the chest bursting scene still holds up, and gives the audience a taste of the malignant idea of something 'other' growing inside of you, and then ultimately killing you. It's still atmospherically scary with a good band of fleshed out characters. As well as a strong female lead, which is rare now and much rarer back then.

The H R Geiger's xenomorph is mesmerising in itself, elevating the movie in a direction which it wouldn't if it was anything different. The set designs are gritty, seductive and intriguing all at the same time.

8.
Lost In Translation
Image result for lost in translation wiki
On the surface, this movie is rather hollow, and arguably, on face value, a little pretentious in some places. But I like it because not only are the two main characters relatable, but they're also rather likeable. It's story about the coming together of two people who're in some form of life crisis, in a place that is strange to them. Their loneliness essentially brings them together.

The casting is perfect, Bill Murray and an unknown Scarlett Johansson play the leads perfectly, the city of Tokyo acts as a character all by itself, rather than just being a background piece.

It also has a indefinitely listenable soundtrack, which compliments the neurotic tone of the film.

Charlotte: Let’s never come here again because it will never be as much fun.

9.
Toy Story 2

Along with Monsters Inc this is my favourite Pixar movie. For me it's just a tad better than the first Toy Story. In part, because the characters are already established, and the supporting characters from the first movie play a bigger part, and new ones are introduced.

But I think it's the best in the series because it's the most fun, and the most emotional. While the first was about the character's accepting who they are. Toy Story 2 is about friendship and belonging, without being preachy and overly sentimental.

The scenes in Al's Toy Barn are the Toy Story series at their finest.

10.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Image result for lord of the rings two towers wiki
My favourite in the LOTR trilogy.

Watching the Battle of Helm's deep in the cinema is still greatest cinematic experience I have ever had, the build up and the tension was unbelievable. Watching moments like that are what shared movie experiences are made for.
Unrivalled to this day.

Honourable mentions:

Speed- Non stop action, along with 'Die Hard', it's my favourite pure action movie of all time
The Cable Guy- Jim Carrey in his darkest role, shamefully forgotten and very underrated in my opinion
Jurassic Park- a rare blockbuster that it is more than the sum of its parts.
Ghostbusters 1&2- While the first is the better film, the second is more fun. Would definitely be in my top 15 list.
Snow White and the Sven Dwarfs- In my top 3 Disney movies, nothing has scared me as much as the first time I saw it as a child.
Seven- The perfect horror/mystery combination. On anther day, this would be in my top ten. So utterly brilliant, the story drags you in all the way. The lighting is sublime, I wish I had seen this in a cinema theatre
The Godfather: Part 2- I love this movie, but I haven't seen it in a number of years

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