My Favorite Movies

As long as Han's shooting Gredo in cold blood and no one yet knows of Jabba the Hutt, I don't know what anyone could have against this masterpiece. Who would've thought that it would all go so wrong...?

Simply the best movie to come out of hollywood in years. It packs a hefty punch, it looks great and it has one hell of a philosophy behind it. There's no need to go on much further as anyone who's seen it knows how good it is and anyone who hasn't really should be checking it out. In Tyler we trust...

Donnie Darko is one of the few movies recently, or ever for that matter, that has completely blown me away. I think I spent the whole night, and most of the day after, thinking about this movie after the first time I saw it. Everything about it is class: the concept, the story, the script, the acting, the photography- all class. Really, I can't say enough good things about this one. I'll admit, it's not for eveyone- Rob Schneider and Adam Sandler fans would be better off giving this a miss- but nevertheless, this is contemporary film-making at it's finest...

This is one of my all time favourites. Genuinely creepy, gratuitously gory, ingeniously filmed and, above all, piss-yer-pants funny. Sam Raimi has clearly learned a thing or two since making The Evil Dead [this is more a remake than it is a sequal], most notably being that, when you're dealing with splatter, the laughs should outweigh the horror. Of course an obligatory standing ovation goes to Bruce Campbell, whom without, this film would be nothing...

This movie is so good. It completely changed what I thought a film could be and introduced me to the world of independent cinema. The whole thing is dreamlike in its narrative [in fact Richard Linklater would go on to use the same style in the outstanding Waking Life- a freeflowing study of dreams] and the ideas and philosphies expressed range from poignant to irrelevant. There's a spark in this movie that shines from the beginning to the end and is detectable in all areas, be it direction, production or even just the acting. This is a beautiful and essential movie...

The fact that this won like every major oscar is testement to its greatness. This is one of the all time great Character movies, with all the conflicting personalities in the mad-house. To my mind this is Jack Nicholson's best ever role, as R.P. McMurphy- the crook faking mental illness to ease his custodial sentance, pitting his wits against the iron lady that is Nurse Ratchet. This is more than just a "who's to say what's mad" piece, but a glorious study in human pychology that is both warm and pertinent...

Although I'm finding it harder to like Kevin Smith with every movie he makes [I've yet to see Clerks II] this is just outstanding. Having worked in retail for many a year [including a stint in a video-rental shop] I cherish this movie with all my heart. Even after many viewings, I still damn-near piss myself laughing. The dialogue is spot on and the whole movie eminates a refreshing glow. Classic...

What you've got here is a singularly fantastic concept, bolstered by a flawless script, acted warmly by a first-rate cast and shot with vision by a maverick director. I defy anyone who claims to like film not to like this, it's beautiful....

Haven't met a soul yet who didn't like this. Kept me thinking for days on end. Genuinely clever, incredibly played out and entirely original [actually, I've heard that Christopher Nolan's previous film 'Followed' is filmed in the same style, but since it's still his idea...] I would urge anyone who has not seen this to check it out, it's simply amazing...

Best British movie of the 90's by far. One of those classic films where everything just comes together beautifully- photography, direction, acting, script, soundtrack: all superb. Made me want to be a junkie. Just kidding...

If you're reading this then I should assume you've never seen Raiders of the Lost Ark. Why have you never seen Raiders of the Lost Ark? Are you 'special' or something?

Wow! Yeah! I mean, Wow! Hell Yeah! I remember the first time I saw this as a kid and getting maniacally angry at the end, unaware there was another film on the way!

There is not one second of this movie that I don't love. This is everything I could possibly want from an action movie: Kung Fu; Swordplay; Gangsters; Blood; Guts; Blood & Guts; motorbikes; Anime; Humour and; Bruce Lee [kinda]. This is like, the coolest music video you've ever seen and then some. And to think, I thought old Tarantino wouldn't pull through...

That they moved this from Holloway to Chicago doesn't matter in the slightest, as in pretty much all other respects this is loyal to the book. John Cusack is excellent as always and there's a great supporting cast here too [including Jack Black on top form.] High Fidelity is a must for anyone who's serious about they're music and if you're not, it's just a really funny and affectionate movie...

People say the Ewoks were lame, but they forget that they were seconds away from burning Han and Luke alive before eating them. That's pretty hardcore...

Yeah, I know. I'm a big old geek, Ilove this sort of stuff. Also I'm one of many 'Rings fans who actually reckons this was too short- and that still stands after the extended version...

Richard Linklater gives the subject of dreams an intelligent and highly philosophically charged study here. The animation technique [that he used again later in A Scanner Darkly] suits the subject brilliantly, and many thought-provoking issues are raised. Highly reccomended...

I rented this out one boring Sunday afternoon because it's one of those movies you always hear about, and I found myself instantly engrossed in it. It really is as good as it's reputation. Bogart and Bergman have a fantastic chemistry and the script is really well written. Despite knowing the ending almost verbatim through constant clip-shows and parodies, I still found myself on the verge of tears by the climax...

An astonishingly brutal satire of American TV culture and indeed the Western Media itself. Star performances from Robert Downey Jr. and Tommy Lee Jones, as well as Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis in the lead roles...

The nearest I've ever come to actually pissing myself in a cinema. It's that funny...

Lenny Bruce was not only a funky comedian but one of the greatest heros of free speech of the last hundred years. Unfortunately a lot of his recorded material is rather sketchy and sometimes hard to grasp out of context. "Lenny" then, is an absolute gem, insofar as it cuts through the crap and delivers the man himself- Dustin Hoffman gets him down to a tee [nominated for an oscar, for what it's worth] and Bruce's whole sorry story is made beautiful by a great supporting cast and an inspired script, not to mention the fantastic black and white photography. Absolute quality film-making...

This is a very important film. If you want to see one of the biggest ways in which we, and the world we all live in, are being screwed over every day, I suggest you watch this...

An absolutely remarkable movie here. For what must be the first time ever, a WWII film from the German view-point. Downfall is a truly powerful piece of cinema which shows the Nazis as human beings- as opposed to the one-dimensional, killing machines we've come accustomed to over the years- without ever seeking to excuse their actions. And so we have Himmler, Goebbels and Hitler himself as if made flesh, in the final throes of the war as Berlin crumbles around them. Set almost entirely in Hitler's bunker, this is fascinating stuff that gives amazing insight into events that the history books normally give only sterile facts on, and to this end, the issue of party loyalty is as intriguing as it is bizarre. A truly essential World War II movie- thumbs up...

I hate spiders but I love Spider-man; go figure. This film's ace. Toby Maguire's absolutely perfect as Peter Parker, Kirsten Dunst is fantastic in everything she stars in [most notablely, my dreams], JK Simmons quite simply IS Jonah Jameson and Sam Raimi is clearly having a bucket of fun directing this. As a Spider-man fan, I could nit-pick certain 'changes' in spidey-lore, but with a movie as fun as this there's really no point. Would've given it five stars if it wasn't for the fact that the Green Goblin looks like a bad guy from the Power Rangers. For best results, watch with Spider-man 2...

If anyone ever tries to tell you that smoking pot is bad [mmmkay] make them watch this film. It takes you through the history of the attempts by the US government to have cannabis banned, showing up the official falsehoods, media manipulation and ultimately the blatant hypocrasies in doing so. At times thought-provoking, hilarious and damning, this is an excellent film, containing some absolutely fantastic vintage stock footage [including highlights from the much talked about/seldom seen "Reefer Madness"] and all tied together by Woody Harrelson's calming and witty narration. It loses half a star for not promoting all the uber-positive facets of hemp production that legalising marijuana would bring [such as: you can make four times as much paper from an acre of hemp than you can from an acre of trees, not to mention cloth, rope and even food...] To find out about this side of the story, I'd strongly suggest reading Jack Herer's book "The Emperor Wears No Clothes", much of which can be found for free on the internet [google Jack Herer]...

Man, this is quality film-making. Every shot is beautiful, all the acting is top notch and the script [actually written by Nabokov himself] is faultless. I thought this was going to be really risque but it's actually really funny and I found myself really empathising with James Mason's character, obsessed with lust and youthful beauty. I'd say it's one of Kubrick's best, but then you can't really compare this with Full Metal Jacket or 2001 can you, I mean they're completely different films. Certainly it's better than Dr. Strangelove or Eyes Wide Shut...

This is a great movie that tackles the subject of racism pretty well. That said, I've seen it a few times now and I can't help feeling that it needs a little something extra message-wise. Great performances though, Edward Norton is shit-hot and scary as hell as a neo-nazi. If you like this, you should definitely check out 'The Believer' too...

Filmed on almost no budget at all with a cast comprising entirely of his mates, Peter Jackson's debut is as funny as it is gut-wrenchingly gory. Jacksons dedication to his special effects is exemplary [to give the effect of machine-gun fire, he pierced the film with a pin at the end of the gun barrel on every frame!] Five out of five for effort...

Bang on! That's the stuff! Brett Ratner take note: this is how you make a comic-book movie [twat]. Frame for frame the same as the books, not even Bruce Willis's arrogance can wreck this for a five-star action movie. Actually, I think it can. Smug bastard...

One of the most beautiful movies of the century so far. This film captures something very real. Alienation is the theme here, as the isolation and insomnia of being [for all intents and purposes- alone] in a foreign city acts as a catalyst for the deeper isolation the protagonists feel within their marriages and careers. This film is just as much about modern society as it is about human friendship and the value of love.
Both leads are fantastic- Murray really should've got the Oscar- and Tokyo looks dreamlike under Sofia Coppola's direction. "Lost In Translation" will no doubt be remembered as one of the great movies of this decade...

This really is one of the definitive splatter-zombie-comedies, second only to Evil Dead 2...

This was really underrated when it came out. Mike Judge [of Beavis & Butthead/King of the Hill fame] made it and it's really funny, especially if you've ever wanted to tell your boss where to stick it. Check it out...

This is like a scaled down version of his other films. I like the issues raised about how we feel about our childhood friends once we've grown up some...

This one gets the extra half star that American Pie lost [although I'm tempted to remove it due to the presence of Lee Evans- really, he's not funny] despite being charged with the same offense. This is mainly down to the great cast, who are bothfunny and fun to watch. This is also the only Farrelly brothers movie that I've actually liked...

SPOILERS AHOY!!!
Scorsese turns it up to eleven in this fantastic remake of 'Infernal Affairs'. While Leonardo Di Caprio and Matt Damon [looking shockingly similar here] are superbly cast in the leading roles, surprise surprise, it's Jack Nicholson who steals the show. The camera work is vintage Scorsese and, once again, New York looks like the only city worth a damn in the whole wide world. 'The Departed' is almost scene for scene lifted from 'IA'. Almost. And herein lies the only real criticism I care to give: the few instances where Scorsese has changed the scene- or indeed the characters- unfortunately make this inferior to 'IA', most notably being his development of the two principle charatcers. See, 'IA'- in my opinion- was all about the redemption of Andy Lau's character [Damon in 'The Departed'] who is highly jaded and conflicted after years of working undercover in the police force. Likewise it is made clear that Tony Leung's [Di Caprio's equivilent] cop is picked for undercover work based on the fact that he's the best there is. This makes for a fantastic dynamic where Lau truly respects Leung, and at the end when he shoots Leung's killer outside the lift it is not merely to protect his identity, but almost a revenge killing. This dynamic is taken out of 'The Departed' by Scorsese's decision to make Damon personally attached to his underworld boss [the big, emotional sene when he shoots Nicholson is a cold and calculated decision in 'IA'] and Di Caprio a reformed street punk of sorts. In trying to add more depth to his characters, he has ironically removed much of their humanity- but such is Hollywood. There, I've had my say- at the end of the day though, 'The Departed' is still a great movie well worth watching...