My Favorite Movies

The Flight of Dragons is not just a film for me, it is a major part of my childhood. I absolutely adore this animation, from the plot (which isn't half-bad for a children's animation), the characters, the atmosphere, the music, and perhaps most of all, the feeling of being immersed in a fully-formed fantasy world (no doubt helped by being based on a book: the explanation of dragon flight is particularly inventive). Its tough to choose between this and Conan as my all-time favourite film, but if I was forced to decide, I think I'd have to pick this.

Magnificently camp epic smattered with some of the most hilariously macho lines ever, delivered by a man born to play Conan. Beautiful cinematography, sparse dialogue and stunning set design, all brought together though an amazing score by Basil Poledouris. Instead of all that difficult 'talking' business, Arnie was largely left to do what he does best: pose, grunt and hit things.

Main reason I enjoyed Nausicaa so much was the feminist overtone; there were strong female characters in both heroic and 'villain' roles; women exhibited intelligence, physical strength, combat prowess, along with the more stereotypical compassion; the 'villains' were not black and white, and indeed some turned out to be quite 'heroic' (the ohmu, for example). Hayao Miyazaki has a number of running themes, which this pre-Ghibli film showcases: strong female protagonist and flight (pretty much every Miyazaki film features something flying, be that a blimp, a glider, a broomstick or his real love, a plane), along with environmental concerns that would be repeated in Princess Mononoke. Also, the full version is plenty longer than 94mins - more like 2hrs, yet another reason its awesome. Hooray for long films!

Absolutely gorgeous animation, a great Gothtastic plot and lots of cool action sequences. Unusually for an anime, this was intended for an English-speaking cast rather than original Japanese getting dubbed, which may explain why the voice acting is so good (at least IMO: I know there are those who hate the voices, particularly the comic tone adopted for Left Hand). May be a little gory for some, though.

Magnificent. This is why British comedy is the best on the planet: witty, sarcastic and at times entirely ridiculous, in 1975 Monty Python created a comedy classic. That's not forgetting the American input of Terry Gilliam, his animations making up a large percentage of the 'ridiculous'. Unlike the TV series, Holy Grail is relatively easy to follow, each sketch strung together into a comparatively comprehensible narrative. If I could point to anything potentially at fault, I would probably say the ending is a bit of an anti-climax. While on the one hand its perfectly in keeping with the Python's anarchic sense of humour, on the other you have to wonder if they simply couldn't come up with a fitting conclusion. On a related note, the recent musical associated with the film, Spamalot, is well worth seeing, especially if you're a fan of the film.

Repeatedly remade but never bettered, Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece manages to combine stunning fight sequences with a plot sufficiently engaging that even a film well over three hours does not seem padded. This is one of the few on my Facebook list that is pretty much universally accepted as one of the greats. A critically acclaimed, action-packed but still thoughtful classic, Seven Samurai ticks all the boxes.

Like most people who at all rate this film, I've loved Animalympics since my childhood. It has become something of a mythical film for me because I've never found it on DVD. At least, until 2007: its been released in Germany (where its called Die Dschungel-Olympiade). Probably the main three things of note are that it features Billy Crystal's voice talents, music from Graham Gouldman (of 10cc fame) and the director was the same guy who did Tron, Steven Lisberger. The interview with him (looking very hirsute) on the DVD is pretty cool, as it reveals just how much work went into the film, not to mention skill (Lisberger frequently laments how pen and ink is a lost skill in todays world of digitally enhanced animation). The songs are just as great as I remember, and the animation remains beautiful. Would be interesting to know would might have happened if the Olympics hadn't been boycotted that year: this could have been a big success. As it was, its become more of a cult film than an aging blockbuster.

I grew up with Labyrinth, but its become extra-special for me because its also one of my gf's favourite films. She played the soundtrack constantly when we first started going out, along with the film itself, so its tightly bound up with our relationship. Its a kick-ass film aside from that too, with brilliant songs, fantastic puppetry and probably best of all, David Bowie's crotch giving an Oscar-worthy performance.

This 1965 animation from China has been with me for a long time. Judging by my search of The Times archive (yes, I'm that geeky), the broadcast my parents recorded would have probably been from Christmas Day 1981 at 15:40 on BBC 2. I was less than a year old, and have been watching it ever since. The story is all about the famous Chinese mythological figure, the Monkey King, and the frustration he causes the Emperor of Heaven. Everything is Mandarin with no subtitles, but for the BBC broadcast (I'm not sure if this was part of a festival or a commonly added part of the soundtrack) there is a soothing English narration summarising what's going on, which crops up intermittently. Unfortunately, I don't think there is a DVD release in English yet, so I've been relying on my battered old copy from the TV (transferred to DVD, of course, but not great quality). I'd like to add Nezha Nao Hai (Nezha Conquers the Dragon King) too, which similarly has been with me for years, but not seeing it on Facebook movies.

While Labyrinth has more sentimental value for me, The Dark Crystal is clearly the better film, probably because - fitting, given the title - its a much darker piece. The plot is pretty nasty, torture and slavery coming together in one especially memorable scene where someone basically gets their personality sucked out their head, becoming a mindless drone. The puppetry is even better than in Labyrinth, further improved (in terms of making it immersive, at least) by the lack of any human stars. Then again, it doesn't feature David Bowie's crotch, something every good film should have. ;)

For a children's cartoon, this is actually quite dark in places, effectively centering around a mass genocide. I think the plot is wonderful, with some great music and engaging characters, set against my favourite backgrop, an immersive fantasy world. A 25th Anniversary Edition DVD was released this month: definitely something I want to get hold of!

The name Terry Gilliam tends to guarantee a strange film experience, and eccentric fantasy Time Bandits is no exception. The plot is bizarre, as a bunch of midgets hop through time stealing from various historical figures. The set design is wonderful, with a number of fine performances along the way - Sean Connery plays a suitably manly role, along with Ralph Richardson's excellent 'Supreme Being'. Also as is common with Gilliam films, particularly the earlier ones, he brings in a number of Pythons in cameo roles - John Cleese does an especially good Robin Hood. Finally, the ending is typically bleak: there's plenty of fun in this film, but you feel kinda sorry for poor Kevin by the conclusion. On the other hand, as with the even darker finish to Brazil, its possible to read it both ways.

If you found Conan wasn't quite homoerotic enough, then this is the film for you! Grunts and glistening flesh bulge and bellow for over an hour, which will have you reaching for those dusty old dumbbells hidden behind the couch. The very awesome Pumping Iron is a partly staged documentary that was responsible for bringing a certain Arnold Schwarzenegger to the attention of casting directors (though technically it was his fifth film), in addition to lifting the sport of bodybuilding into the mainstream. Arnie stands out from all the other beefcakes not only for his amazing physique, but his obvious charisma. Some of his lines are hilarious, like when he compares 'the pump' he gets from lifting weights to an extended orgasm. Many of the lines are also the bodybuilders playing to the camera - in order to up the interest level, there is a semi-fabricated narrative running through the real events leading up to the 1975 Mr Olympia. The end result is a perfect combination of fact and fiction, set against a fascinating world of dedication, sacrifice, and really, REALLY big pecs.

I love Yoshiaki Kawajiri, because he's the man responsible for films like Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Ninja Scroll. Wicked City is another interesting piece of work, but its definitely not for children. A number of viewers still class this as hentai (cartoon porn, effectively), which is unfortunate as the plot is intelligent, the animation is great and the action - as ever with Kawajiri - leaps out of the screen. I warn you that there is a lot of nudity and even a sex scene, but there are a number of points where it is at least partially justified by the narrative rather than just thrown in for titillation. Having said that, the sexual violence is unnecessary and cheapens the film, along with the way any female demon seems incapable of expressing herself in a non-sexual manner. The violence is also fairly nasty at points, so don't pick this up if you're squeamish. But if you can stomach the unpleasant quirks of anime (stereotypical portrayals of women, brutality etc), then Wicked City is well worth your time.

A film about _ing _un that actually looks good? Impossible, you might think, but thanks to some awesome choreography, Yuen Biao's trademark acrobatics and a fabulous Lam Ching Ying, The Prodigal Son is easily one of the best films to come out of Hong Kong. The plot is fairly entertaining, with all the leads getting a chance to really show their stuff, including a typically comic performance by director Sammo Hung. Highly recommended.

Take the fairy tale format, put it in space, throw in lots of explosions, say "I am your father" in a breathy voice, and voila - instant classic!

The later trilogy was unmitigated crap, but the original three remain fantastic. Yes, even Return of the Jedi - I'll take ewoks over Hayden Christensen and Jar Jar Binks any day.

Violent with some entirely random (and quite unnecessary) sex scenes, Golgo 13 is James Bond through a Japanese prism. Indeed, you'll see 'James Bond' crop up repeatedly in any review of a Golgo 13 film, book or manga. Cool and efficient, he always gets the job done, never cracking a smile: in fact, he pretty much displays no emotion at all. The manga kicked off in 1969, and there's still a sense of that period in this film. Dark, stylish anime that deserves to be seen.