My Favorite Movies

Stunning.

A slow-moving, creepy, suspenseful & beautifully shot ghost story that relies on psychological tension and a well told story instead of the usual gore. The bit when Laura finds out the truth about what happened to Simon is genuinely shocking.

This film is one of my favourites. It's a fantastic almost-romance that succeeds not only because of the excellent performances and cinematography but also because of all the things that are left unsaid between the two main characters. The ending is perfect - I wish more directors were brave enough to trust their audiences to fill in the blanks instead of having everything spoon-fed to them. "A ring a ding ding"...

This is probably my favourite Lynch film. It has plenty of his usual directorial flourishes and also a killer soundtrack. Typical Lynchian imagery abounds and once you work out what the hell is going on you'll want to watch it again and again to explore all the nuances of Fred's never-ending attempt to escape from the truth.

There's not much plot to this 'lovers on the run' fairytale road movie but that really doesn't matter. Inspired by the Wizard of Oz, the film is driven by a series of bizarre events, over-the-top violence and surreal imagery that could only come from the mind of David Lynch. After the story is done it's those images that will stay with you (e.g. the blind woman in New Orleans, the dog running away with the hand and of course one of the best ever movie deaths). The lines between reality and imagination are blurred and at times you get the feeling that a lot of the characters belong in some kind of crazy parallel universe. Top it all off with a killer soundtrack and you've got a film that's well worth watching again and again.

I don't really understand the amount of negative reaction that this film gets. In my opinion Part 3 is superb and is easily on a par with the first two installments. There are so many stand-out moments but I think the scene at the end on the opera house steps packs more of an emotional punch than anything else in the trilogy. Sofia Coppola's performance is often singled out for criticism but while it's not spectacular it does the job and is certainly not "wretched" as described in the Halliwell Film Guide. I think she gives a fine portrayal of a gawky teenager. I might even slightly prefer Part 3 over Part 2 but it doesn't really matter; all three films together are surely the pinnacle of American film making.

Let The Right One In is one of the best vampire films I've seen and is a welcome entry in what has become a very tired genre. This is proper European vampirism, not the glossy Hollywood type. The developing relationship between Oskar and Eli is fascinating to watch and two lead actors give excellent and subtle performances. The film moves along at a fairly relaxed pace which gives the viewer time to appreciate the fantastic cinematography and get fully immersed in the mood of the piece. The effects are very nicely done and again are very subtle; this is not a gore-fest. Some other nice touches are Eli's stomach rumbles and feral noises when she's got the bloodlust and there's also an excellent homage to the floor-licking scene from Cronos. Well worth seeing.

One of the very best films I've seen for a long time. Mickey Rourke is perfect for this role and his performance is astounding. It's difficult to think who else could have pulled this off (and I'm so glad that Nicolas Cage didn't end up doing it as was originally planned). Marisa Tomei is also excellent as the ageing stripper, the only minor flaw being that she looks too good to be believable as "past it". The lingering, unbroken shots as well as the use of real wrestlers gives most of the film quite a rough documentary style which works very well and constrasts nicely with the intense fight sequences. Plotwise, there are some real emotional lows but the mood is lightened just enough with some well-placed humour. Some reviewers have said that the father-daughter subplot wasn't necessary but I think the film (especially the finale) would have been weaker without it.

The better half of the Tarantino/Rodriguez Grindhouse project. To sum up: zombies, gore, violence, fit birds & over-the-top action.

A film that references Bruce Springsteen, Belle & Sebastian, Star Wars, Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" and Wii Tennis. It also features a tabletop version of Donkey Kong. How could I not like it?

A masterpiece.

This deserves top marks just for Dern's performance and the sound design. And of course it's always good to get another dose of the Lynchian red curtains, strobe lighting and the fruits of his apparent lamp fetish. As for the plot? Well, repeated viewings will be required. Maybe The Guardian is right: it's "probably best understood as not understood at all" http://bit.ly/98mQtG

Fanboy, moi?