My Favorite Movies

IN MY TOP 10 ... Stylish, hypnotic, jaw dropping, and even sparodically funny. Lends itself to multiple viewings and provides you with enough food for thought to last a number of years. Remains my favourite film of all time.

IN MY TOP 10 ... Any Charlie Kaufman doubters who were saying he was too clever for his own good, and sacrificed emotional connection for interesting ideas should have ripped their tongues out and ate them for breakfast when this was released. Beautiful, funny, heart warming (or heart wrenching, sometimes it's hard to tell), wildly inventive and entertaining ... about as close to perfect as they come.

IN MY TOP 10 ... I have never known a film to try and be so many things, and succeed with flying colours in every aspect as much as Shaun of the Dead. The laughs are thick and fast, the character development is top notch, the trademark zombie movie gore is there, and some of the dramatic scenes are filled with more tension and emotion than anything you'd find in your standard drama. Plus there's more clever jokes that you don't pick up till the fifth time you've watched it than you can poke a stick at. Bloody fantastic!

IN MY TOP 10 ... Spirited Away transports you to another world that completely envelops and intrigues you, allowing you to share the same sense of wonder and amazement as the protaganist. Ridiculously imaginative, and just plain cool (seriously how awesome was No-Face?), it continues the tradition of great original escapist storytelling (like Alice in Wonderland etc.), but expands and improves on it.

IN MY TOP 10 ... Too clever for it's own good? Bah Humbug! There is nothing about this film that doesn't work for me. It's inventive, daringly original, smart and funny. But for me personally it's also poignant, honest and offers great insights into the nature of writing and the nature of life itself.

IN MY TOP 10 ...

Absolute classic "rockumentary" about british heavy rock group "Spinal Tap" that paved the way for other films in the genre like Metallica's "Some Kind of Monster". Hilarious. A must for any music fan.

IN MY TOP 10: One of my favourite comedies. I can watch it over and over. So many quotes. Such an awesome slacker vibe and a good dash of the absurd. Great performances especially from Goodman and Bridges.

As a side note, I visited the Berlin Wall recently and theres graffiti of Walter pointing a gun and saying "You're entering a world of pain".

IN MY TOP 10: Harrowing, depressing, torturous ... but undeniably, unquestionably amazing. Some feel the use of camera tricks and editing techniques detracts from the story, but part of this film is definitely about style, and if it all results in a film that leaves you with as lasting an impression as this does, than who's to complain?

IN MY TOP 10: Just fantastic! Easily one of the best comp animated films ever released. The cute factor is turned up to 11 so youre bound to be grinning from ear to ear like an idiot, but also turned up to 11 is the dramatic atmosphere and all round cleverness. Looks and feels different to anything before it. It does drop away toward the end a bit, but it still deserves five stars.

IN MY TOP 10: A must for Tim Burton fans, Johnny Depp fans, Ed Wood fans or anyone who enjoys old B-grade horror films. It may not be a particuarly honest bio-pic but that's hardly the point. It's a loving tribute to the tragically awful (but infectiously optimistic and determined) film maker, and to Bella Lagosi (the original Dracula). It is also a master piece of film making.

IN MY TOP 100: One of the best book to film adaptations ever made. It keeps the nihilistic mood of the novel and manages to be almost stylistically perfect frame by frame.

IN MY TOP 100: Ok I'll admit it. I'm a sucker for flicks about a misunderstood loner who finds love. But I'm certainly not alone in that weakness, and if you suffer from it too then Edward Scissorhands is about as good as it gets. Especially if you're not interested in being too bogged down in anything too heavy or depressing. Perfectly balances fascinating darker elements that admitadly might scare little kids (I know it freaked me out a bit when I was younger), with the more wholesome family movie themes to create a modern fairy tale worthy of such a label.

IN MY TOP 100: One of the most enjoyably bizzare and refreshingly creative head-trips you can have in front of a screen.

IN MY TOP 100: One of the best horror movies made, for the truly unsettling mood that runs through out. Sure it makes a little less sense than the remake (it is Japanese after all), and the character development isn't as strong, but for nightmare fodder, this is where it's at. The whole film plays out with gradually building tension that is paid off in one of the scariest scenes ever filmed at the end of the movie. However, if you haven't seen this you unfortunately have probably seen a parody of the scene or have heard what happens, so some of the effect may be lost.

IN MY TOP 100: Part of me would like to say that Empire Strikes Back is my favourite Star Wars film, as the general consensus with film critics seems to be that it was the best. But the truth is that Jedi will always hold more of a special place in my heart than any of the other episodes. No other film reproduced the excitement I felt as a kid during that finale (though the "Reavers appearing through the clouds" moment in Serenity came close). The Ewok fight, spaceship battle, and Luke's final showdown with Vader. All at the same time! And balanced so brilliantly. Absolute magic!

IN MY TOP 100: An awesome head trip of a movie. My favourite David Lynch film. It's frustratingly non-linear and full of narrative dead-ends, but it's just so absorbing that I hardly care.

IN MY TOP 100: The best sci-film since Star Wars. Full of intelligence and emotion, without skimping on fist pumping action.

IN MY TOP 100:A movie that works incredibly well on a number of levels.
Many people were drawn in by the mystery element, due to the hype around the surprise ending. The ending is great but there's much more to it. Someone spoiled the ending for me and I still loved the film.
Then on first watch, it's the creepy horror aspect that draws you in. It never shows you more than it needs, but I know I jumped out of my skin a few times when I saw it as a kid.
Lastly, but most importantly this is actually a brilliant drama (something that wasn't so obvious to me until I'd watched a few times). You can't help but care a hell of a lot for the characters and no one should be ashamed to admit shedding a few tears over some of the movie's more touching moments.

One of my all time favourites. It's just a shame that Shymalan never followed up with anything of the same calibre.

IN MY TOP 100: Desolate visions of a post apocolyptic Earth, biting satire about modern society, and a complete lack of fuzzy critters. Doesn't sound like a recipe for a good family movie huh? But somehow Wall-E manages to be that, and much more. The environmental message (which the kids may or may not pick up on) isn't too preachy or depressing, because it's about inciting joy about the world we currently live in rather scaring you about how doomed we all are. An instant classic.

Edit: I'm surprised that some people have said they were annoyed when the humans turned up. As much as I loved watching the robots lonely antics on Earth, it wasn't until they reached the ship that the movie properly kicked into gear for me. The first glimpse of the humans gave me the most laughs as well. Such a clever and funny comment on the way Western society is heading.

IN MY TOP 100: Ok it's technically not a feature movie. It's actually three 30 minute short films. But they are so brilliant that they have to be put here. The second episode 'The Wrong Trousers' is possibly my favourite half hour of anything anywhere.

IN MY TOP 100: I have a lot of love for this movie. I've tried watching other Allen flicks but nothing else comes even remotely close. Delightfully surreal, accurate and poignant.

EDIT: Ah screw it. Who am I kidding? I freakin' adore this film. I'm pushing it up to 5 stars.

IN MY TOP 100: Before 2004 Pixar was still making brilliant movies that stuck roughly to the Buzz Lightyear/Woody buddy cop-esque formula. Then they released "The Incredibles" which finally moved on to something different. The result was one of their best films ever made. Funny, inventive and heartwarming (while mostly managing to steer away from over-sentimentality), the adult audience is in mind more than before while still being mind blowingly entertaining enough to keep the kids hooked. What I think most impresses me is that Pixar/Disney were brave enough to have quiet scenes and let the story take time to unfold, giving the chance for some A grade character development that pushes the film above and beyond. Love it!

IN MY TOP 100: One of the best movies I've seen for some time. It's like a backward character study, that carefully destroys your sympathy for the central character instead of building it up.And once you reach the end it makes everything that came before seem even more clever. It's tense, it's intriguing, and it doesn't feel like almost 3 hours. Even more impressive is that it's completely different in style to PT Anderson's previous efforts.

IN MY TOP 100: You either love him or loathe him it seems. Personally I respect Mr. Moore alot for what he does, though I tend to concede a bit of a "yeah I know what you mean" when someone tells me he's just a wanker. Roger & Me and Farenheit are also good films, but Bowling is the only one I'd include in my top 100 because Michael allows his overbearing opinions to be pushed to the side in favour of the overall idea of the film. And even if that idea gets a little hazy (it starts seemingly as an anti-gun film but then moves on to much more ambiguous territory) it all makes sense somehow. A little too much sense in fact. A true must see.

IN MY TOP 100: Sure it copies Goodfellas to a degree, and the end scene is very similar to Raging Bull, but of all the movies that deal with lots of simultaneous character arcs (something that we see quite constantly today), this is one of the most worthwhile.

IN MY TOP 100: If you packed any more imagination and creativity into this film it would be literally dripping from the screen. The whole thing looks amazing. Even the purposely dreary, dull "real life" scenes have a certain beauty to them, but it's the truly bizarre fantasy world that is simply stunning.

The laughs aren't exactly thick and fast, but the focus on atmosphere rather than gags gives the film a very different feel and energy to what we've become used to from most kids films. In fact some will find it all a bit slow in parts, but if you're after something unique you're unlikely to be disappointed.

It may come as a surprise, but my parting thoughts on this gem are DON'T take your kids to see it. Well not young kids anyway. If I saw this when I was six I wouldn't have slept for a week. Parts of it are THAT creepy.

IN MY TOP 100: Hit me like a tonne of bricks when I first watched it. Neo-nazis are a pet hate of mine, but also a fascination. American History X has to be one of the most unflinching films about the issue, and although it probably never helped ease racism (I'd imagine that only those who are already converted would fully appreciate the more noble intentions of the film), it gets double points for it's brutal honesty.

IN MY TOP 100: Just a great, slick film. What more is there to say?

IN MY TOP 100: Some may be disapointed to find that this movie has very little to do with monkeys. It does however, have themes of insanity and the end of the world ... both great subjects in my book. It's also executed well, with style and mood to spare.

IN MY TOP 100: What to say about this one that hasn't been said before? You could spend years trying to figure out what exactly Kubrick wanted to say with this film. You also might question whether it's an intelligent social satire that could have helped society to look upon itself in disgust and change it's ways, or just a misguided disturbing romp that only added to the violence in the world. Either way, everyone should watch it at some point.

IN MY TOP 100: Quiet indie films like this have a reputation for being pretentious and boring, and that's not unfair criticism. Lost in Translation however is one of the shining examples that proves this is not always the case. It just all works somehow ... Is it the great lead actors? The well placed humour? The alienating setting of inner Tokyo? Whatever the reason, the film manages to convey a poignant vision of loneliness and hope, in a way that raises it above almost all it's peers.

IN MY TOP 100: What's not to love? It doesn't have quite as many big explosions as the other 2, but there's still plenty going on, and this is the one that REALLY draws you into the whole Jedi/force mythology. I must have spent days trying make pens move with the power of my mind after seeing this.

IN MY TOP 100: The world's first peek at an Adam Sandler that is actually a really freaking good actor. Once again he plays a man-child who's prone to angry outbursts, but he delivers it in such a different way to "Happy Gilmore" etc. that you forget it's the same actor. Overall the film is a truly bizarre but beautiful take on a romantic comedy for the socially inept.

IN MY TOP 100: Memento was a life-changing film for me. The first not-entirely-mainstream movie I ever went to see at the cinema, and my lord was it worth it. The backwards editing isn't just a gimmick - it makes the film what it is ... a devilishly clever mystery that keeps you glued to the screen as it slowly unravels.

IN MY TOP 100: A family freindly movie (despite the incest jokes) that enjoys iconic status. No other family movie from the 80's deserves it more.

IN MY TOP 100: Maybe a tad long and sentimental, but screw it, I still love this film. Great cast, great script, and great music. What more could you want?

IN MY TOP 100:
Awesome adaptation of one of my favourite novels. It's sick, angry, and grungy as hell, but it's also hilarious and has plenty of gut-punching dramatic scenes. I reckon Begbie should be counted as one of the best movie villains to date.

IN MY TOP 100: Second only to "Spirited Away" in the list of best Miyazaki films ... and the whole damn list is pretty awesome. Some may be frustrated by the slow-burning narrative or the way everything doesn't quite make logical sense, but if you're willing to go along with the ride you'll find a film cram packed with imagination, wonderful characters and gorgeous animation.

IN MY TOP 100: Ok this is a tough one. It's hard to know what to say. This is a dangerous film in many ways and can be viewed as condoning all sorts of horrid things including paedophelia. Still, I think it's bloody brilliant. Completely hilarious in an "oh my God I don't know if I can keep watching this" way, and surprisingly moving, it deals with modern problems associated with sexuality, isolation and depression with the most pitch black of dark humour. Not for everyone that's for sure, but you won't forget it if you do decide to sit through it.

IN MY TOP 100: Todd Solondz may be the most cynical director ever, but seeing that kind of pessimism on screen can be truly enjoyable- as "Welcome to the Dollhouse" demonstrates. If you still hold any resentment about your school years you'll get a kick out of this. It's bleak, but it's also pretty honest when compared to the glossy-magazine style idealisations of high school life. Watch it, laugh out loud, feel horribly uncomfortable, fall in love with the awkward protagonist Dawn ... just don't expect a happy ending.

IN MY TOP 100: One of the many absolute gems in the Pixar collection. A great adventure with a myriad of brilliant characters.

IN MY TOP 100: They've done it again! Once again Pegg and co. have taken those movie genres that never get a look in when people talk about clever cinema, mashed them together with a healthy serving of self conscious Brit-ness, and made something brilliant. To my mind, not as good as SOTD as it doesn't have as much heart, and the different genres clash against each other more. But the main thing is it's extremely funny.

IN MY TOP 100: The greatest prison film ever made. It's a definite slow burner, but with great scene after great scene (some heart-breaking, some stupid-grin-inducing), and one of the best pay-offs in movie history, you'd have to be made of stone not to be won over. No wonder it's IMDB's number one film.

IN MY TOP 100: Wow ... no seriously, Wow. Left me speechless. Visually, this is an undoubted cinematic masterpeice. Most of the film uses single uncut shots that must have been absolute hell to coreograph, and a good percentage of them are absolutely heart-racingly breathtaking. There's other reasons to like this too, but simply the way its shot is enough that you should go get it right now.

IN MY TOP 100: Combining too many genres in one film can be a big mistake, but "American Splendor" makes it look easy. With elements of documentary, comedy and tragedy often brought together in unexpected ways, "Splendor" feels experimental but it never stops being entertaining.

IN MY TOP 100: Best movie trilogies of all time - what comes to your head? Star Wars? Lord of the Rings? Well get ready to add Toy Story to the list. The third instalment is an almost perfect bookend to the series (at least it seems very likely to be the final one). It's full of adventure and wonderful characters (old and new). There's also some very moving scenes, though the film still manages to be practically laugh-a-second. And if you need any more reasons to go see it; the short film beforehand is Pixar's most original idea yet, and up there with it's most entertaining shorts.

IN MY TOP 100: Stephen King adaptations are usually somewhere between average and awful, but "Stand By Me" (and a few others) provide the exception to the rule. It's a fun adventure flick, but heaped spoonfuls of nostalgia (and maybe a bit of existentialism) turn it into something even more rewarding.

IN MY TOP 100: Thora Birch (that chick from "American Beauty") and the supreme Steve Buscemi (the funny guy from "Armageddon") spearhead this brilliant look at life through the eyes of cynical suburban kids who've just finished with high school.

IN MY TOP 100: The more I think about the "gimp" scene the more fkked up it seems. Obviously a great movie though.

IN MY TOP 100: Recent times have seen horror movies getting nastier and nastier, and churned out at relentless pace. It's a trend that I'm really NOT fond of, but Wolf Creek is one of the few in the genre that I would really stand up for.

Wolf Creek uses the technique of spending the first half of the movie really getting to know the characters, so that when they are killed later it's that much more horrible ... it's something that seems pretty common place now, and more of a cheap nasty trick than anything clever. But a few years back I hadn't really seen it before (remember this is well before Hostel was released). It could still be one of the best examples of the "trick" too. You laugh along with the characters and start to become interested in their lives, and when the rug is ripped out from under your feet it is all the more disturbing.

The main thing I love about this film though is that it proudly turns the romantic vision of the Australian outback on it's head, while ripping into all the other schmultzy Australiana stereotypes that our rather weak film industry has been pedalling to the seemingly dis-interested international community. Why shouldn't an Aussie film show a bit of the dark side for a change? Maybe if we weren't so afraid of scaring off tourists, we wouldn't limit ourselves to larrikin comedies, and cutsie "Kangaroo Jack" bullshit ... and maybe then our film industry would be taken more seriously!

All in all it's a nasty, intense film that I can't help but feel is near-genius.

IN MY TOP 100: Relentlessly entertaining and despite almost every scene being some kind of homage to another film, it feels incredibly fresh and inventive.

IN MY TOP 100: Absolutely brilliant. The second half does let it down a bit though. The film doesn't know when to stop, and the laughs become a lot more sparse. Also, the realism and witty insights that are such a highlight of the first half start to be replaced with something a bit less believable. But then again that's what happens (40 year old virgin had the same problem). You have to end it somehow, right? And they didn't do too bad a job, considering. Anyway, overall it was the most I've laughed in a cinema for a long time, and I was impressed with the way they created sympathy for each character while maintaining deep flaws. Will become one of my favourite films, but it loses a star for being overlong.

IN MY TOP 100: One of the rare sequels that betters the original. It's not that Pixar didn't fall into the typical trap of "let's make it like the first one but bigger and more crazy stunts!" ... but they back it up with enough substance to make you think that for once it was the right decision.

IN MY TOP 100: Really enjoyed it. One of Miyazaki's best. I actually liked it a little more than Princess Mononoke.

IN MY TOP 100: Kubrick, Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall in top form. It's full of classic scenes; some borrowed faithfully from the book, others given a very different spin. Hardened horror film-goers may not find it nearly as frightening as it's reputation suggests, but it worked on me. I now have a deep-seeded fear of shower curtains (or more specifically, what might be lurking behind them).

IN MY TOP 100: Disturbing for sure, but there's a real heart to the film and by the end I actually found it very touching. It's a real cinematic oddity, but it's an oddity that's well worth 2 hours of your time.

IN MY TOP 100: A film that's more than a little sick in the head, but it's also very funny and captivating. The ruthless mocking of reality TV (through exaggerated but very accurate mimicry) is a joy, but the movie balances this with a character-driven story that makes it a film of true worth.

IN MY TOP 100: It has become a franchise that won't die but probably should have a long time ago (although, then again if the kids are still enjoying it, that's all that matters, right?). But this original instalment was a childhood favourite of mine, and I think it still stands up as a great film today. Perhaps a tad more adult-centric than other kid's flicks of it's time (there's a lot of loss, sadness, disaster, and um - personality disorders), but ultimately it becomes a feel-good tale about how friendship and perseverance can triumph over adversity.

IN MY TOP 100: The one that started it all. It's never held as much of a place in my heart as 'Empire' or 'Return', but it's still one of the most effortlessly re-watchable films ever.

IN MY TOP 100: A film about the pain of being a middle class white man. If that statement makes you think, "what the hell do middle class white men have to complain about?" - you have a point, but you probably shouldn't bother with 'Sideways'. Otherwise, I highly recommend it. For one thing, it's the role that made me really like Paul Giamatti as an actor (along with 'American Splendor').

IN MY TOP 100: It opens with Kermit singing 'Rainbow Connection'. If you need any more reason to watch it - maybe you didn't hear me properly. That's 'RAINBOW CONNECTION' people! From there we get to see just how the Muppet crew met each other, a bunch of great cameos, and a delightfully sinister Colonel Sanders-esque villain attempting to make Kermit the spokesman for his "fried frog's legs". What's not to love?

IN MY TOP 100: A fantastic director doing what he does best, and an even better cast. Even since "The Sopranos" this might be the best document of what it feels like to be inducted into the mafia and claw your way through the resulting ups and downs.

IN MY TOP 100: One of the most simple and straight forward Disney films, but there in lies its strength ... plus it's got the 'Pink Elephants on Parade' song in it, which is possibly the single strangest and spookiest musical number to ever appear in such an otherwise innocent children's cartoon.

IN MY TOP 100: Could be the best rock-umentary ever made. It doesn't even matter that it focuses on a band that most people don't know from a bar of soap (including myself before seeing this film). And no I'm not talking about the Dandy Warhols, because the movie is more centred around the "career" of the Brian Jones Town Massacre.

IN MY TOP 100: The Germans were certainly not the only ones to attempt genocide, but for the average European (or European descendant) nothing is likely to incite as much repulsion and fascination as the Jewish holocaust. And if every horrid event needs a great film to ensure the attrocities are never forgotten, Speilberg did more than his fair share with this peice of art.

IN MY TOP 100: The quintessential drug-road trip film. You do have to be in the right mood to enjoy it (otherwise it's just kind of meandering, bizzare and pointless) but if you're prepared it's gonna be a surreal, giddy, disorientating ride of the best kind.

IN MY TOP 100: It's practically the anti-Star Wars, but in a very good way. Its dark, atmospheric, claustrophobic nature makes it a shining example in the horror sci-fi genre.

IN MY TOP 100: The whole trilogy is an amazing achievement. For such a beloved book to be adapted for the screen in a way that satisfied almost all the fans, as well creating a ton of new ones - well it should have been impossible. I rate Return of the King above the other instalments, as it showcases the most epic battles, spectacular effects and genuine emotion of the series. Plus, the scene-stealing Gollum gets plenty of screen time.

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Ok I'm going to admit something embarassing here ... This movie made me cry. Proper.

Now the last time I could say that about a movie was GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES, which I watched about four years ago. And although GRAVE is also a cartoon, it's pretty serious and a bit artsy so maybe it's not as shameful to admit shedding a tear or seventeen. UP, on the other hand, has talking dogs, balloons everywhere, plenty of slapstick humour and lots of bright colours to appease short attention spans. In other words, it's a kids flick. So yeah ... a little embarassing to be crying within the first 15 minutes of the film.

But in my defense the opening montage is really beautiful and well - sad. It's the kind of thing that I don't believe will bore the kiddies too much, but may slap the cynical adults around the face until they think to themselves in surprise "woah, this is actually pretty powerful stuff!" Except now I've told you that you'll be on your guard ... so maybe not.

And wait parents! By now you might be re-thinking the idea of taking your kids to see it. After all you don't want to take them to something that's just going to make them sad, right? Well don't worry! UP is still as much of a rollicking adventure as you would hope, and it's very funny. Besides, didn't you hear me before? Balloons! Bright Colours! Talking Dogs!!!

IN MY TOP 100: The film that ignited my fascination in the possibility of UFO's. It moves slowly, but there are so many memorable scenes that it's difficult not to be won over by it's charm.

IN MY TOP 100: Really impressed.

It works awfully well as a dark comedy, but where most films of that genre work by being very flippant about death, this is nothing of the sort. In fact, the film is more a brooding account of the impact that the death of one individual has on the rest of the characters.

In other words, this is a dark comedy with a hell of a lot of heart, but don't expect any soft-and-fuzzy stuff here. Because there's also some really disturbing images and pitch-black themes that might stick with you for a while to come.

IN MY TOP 100: Sections drag and some of the songs fall flat, but the brilliant visuals and the magical yet gothic atmosphere help push it into "instant classic" territory.

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IN MY TOP 100: A relatively dark tale from the Master of Puppets himself (Jim Henson) that seems to have come from a similar place to 'Labyrinth' (which followed four years later). 'Dark Crystal' doesn't have the humour of it's slightly younger counterpart but it has at least as much imagination and the lack of David Bowie in tight pants has allowed it to age a little better. Another peice of evidence that some of my childhood favourites were actually as good as I remember them.

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IN MY TOP 100: A brilliant feel good movie, with enough of a dark side to stop it becoming a schmultz-fest. Funny, endearing and sometimes tragic ... this is top notch film making!

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IN MY TOP 100: Highly recommended. It's filled with more charm and humour than you'd expect, which makes it so watchable. But there's still plenty of the gritty realism that needs to be addressed in a film dealing with this kind of subject matter. My only real frustration was that it leaves quite a few questions unanswered.

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IN MY TOP 100: Night of the Living Dead is the only 'classic' horror film that I could include in my top 100 without a cheeky "it's so bad it's good" wink. This really is a great horror film, and it still stands up ok by today's standards.

IN MY TOP 100: Bittersweet character peice that also has a lot of humour and some well balanced brutality. Deepened my appreciation for what wrestlers put their bodies through. Wrestling may be staged, but it still takes a big toll on the "actors". The movie was also effective at giving me a bit of a "don't waste your life" kick in the pants. We won't be on this earth forever, and you've got to make sure you keep sight of what's important ... because by the time you've realised that you've screwed things up it may be too late to do anything about it.

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Well that certainly was a headtrip. I didn't have much idea what was going on, but the apocolyptic action mixed with interesting insights into the central characters self hatred makes it worthwhile.

EDIT: I changed this from 3.5 to 4 stars because I've realised that I've barely stopped thinking about the film since I watched it a few days ago. That's a good thing in my book, although it sure is damn confusing!

DOUBLE EDIT: After re-watching I'm moving this into my top 100. God damn it's a fkked up, impossible to fully comprehend, and plain cruel film (especially toward the characters) ... but it's also really really beautiful. Watching this is a truly mind-blowing experience.

IN MY TOP 100: Truly moving, and with plenty of quirky humour that barely misses the mark once. This is a beautiful animation that I highly recommend.

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IN MY TOP 100: I cried like a little baby .... ummm ... I mean ... yeah it was sorta sad I guess .... IF YOU'RE A GIRL! No, seriously it's a beautiful and tear worthy film. My only real complaint is that I had to switch to the Japanese audio track with English subtitles because I found the English voice actor for Setsuko to be annoying to the point of distraction. It sounded to me like a grown woman doing a bad impression of a little kid.

IN MY TOP 100: Visually unique and dazzling, yet full of heart. It has a similar feel to Eternal Sunshine, and even comes close to packing the same emotional punch as Sunshine at times, but it's a bit too quirky to really achieve it. Not a film for those who tend to lose patience with characters that are socially inept, but if you can relate to Stephane's frustrations at not being able to fit into the wider world than you may find it quite powerful. Either way it's a worthwhile journey if just for the creative images that flood the screen.

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IN MY TOP 100: I waited way too long to see this. Just a great peice of entertainment.

IN MY TOP 100: A highly enjoyable trip. I'm tempted to say it's Wes Anderson's best.

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