So after writing about my favourite songs and songs that have affected my life, I think it's only fair I do movies. Here are my top 10 favourite movies...and why they are. Hope you likes these to. If not, fair enough. But please feel free to tell me yours! I'd love to know!
TEN- THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (2006)
"I am the father of this nation, Nicholas. And you have most... grossly... offended your father..."
A strange film to start with, I grant you, but let me explain what it's about. James McAvoy plays Dr Nicholas Garrigan who is sent to 1970s Uganda to work as a doctor but later becomes the personal doctor to the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin (played by Forest Whitaker). As the film goes on, it delves further into Amin's murderous regime and how he brutally deals with domestic troubles while also showing how Garrigan starts to go against these ideas.
I love the film for two reasons. Firstly, it's historically based and people seem to forget Idi Amin in historical terms. His time as dictator of Uganda was fascinating as well as his charming and flamboyant personality. Secondly, Whitaker's portrayal as Amin is chilling. Whitaker switches between Amin's happier and darker sides in an instant which makes for wonderful and scary viewing at once. Especially when the film starts to show what happens to dissidents in his country...
NINE- FORREST GUMP (1994)
"Run, Forrest, run!"
Who can't love this film? It's too damn sweet! Tom Hanks is one of mt favourite actors and this film, for me, is definitely the best of his. (With the exception of two more that will feature on the list). For those who don't know, the film centres around the titular character. A man with special needs who can't use his legs properly until, one day, he manages to run away from bullies. But not only could he run, he was one of the fastest men alive. What he lacked in intelligence, he made up for in speed. The film then sees Forrest get caught up in many historical events including the Civil Rights movement, JFK and ultimately, Vietnam.
I love the film because Forrest is just a funny character and he's one of the most best characters to impersonate ever. MY MOMMA SAID LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES. Also, the way in which they put Hanks into real footage of JFK and the Civil Rights is brilliant to. In one scene, it looks like Hanks is actually speaking to JFK asking to use the toilet. But even the non historical bits are well done. It's just a well written, acted and produced film.
EIGHT- PSYCHO (1960)
"No one really runs away from anything. It's like a private trap that holds us in like a prison. You know what I think? I think that we're all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and we claw, but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch".
A masterpiece by Alfred Hitchcock. Not only is it perfectly creepy, but it also has some of the best scenes in cinema. The shower scene, the finale and the staircase scene. Every single frame of the film is perfectly crafted for a reason and, to be honest, I don't care the reason. It follows a young lady who runs away from her job after stealing $40,000 from her job and ends up at the sinister Bates Motel who's run by Norman, a man who is dominated by his mother. However, when the lady goes missing, people start to come looking and end up at the motel themselves, only to discover a very sinister secret.
As I've said, it's just perfect. When I first saw it it really kept me on my toes and every moment excited me. And Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates is just perfection. I strongly recommend it. If it's not your thing then don't, but if it is, you have to see this. It's a classic for a reason. Hitchcock is a visionary.
SEVEN- THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
"Why so serious!?"
The first superhero movie on this list (not that I think Batman should be called a 'superhero'). Considering the past Batman films, Nolan's wonderful take on the Caped Crusader is by far the most popular and, the second in the trilogy, The Dark Knight is often stated as the best. I agree. In the film, a madman known as the Joker starts to terrorize Gotham by stealing banks and causing general mischief, until the Joker himself starts a one man war against the Batman. Eventually, Batman starts to get in over his head, especially when the love of his life, Rachel, becomes the target of the Joker. Which then shows that the Joker is the least of Batman's problems.
In this film, the late Heath Ledger plays the Joker, which angered many at first but is now considered one of the best ever Jokers on screen. His psychopathic and deadpan acting makes Heath Ledger unique in the Joker alumni because he is the darkest Joker to date. Cesar Romero was more of a clown, Jack Nicholson was more of a gangster but Heath Ledger was just batshit crazy. (No pun intended). Bale's Batman also works for the film but I think it's fair to say that Ledger is the main spectacle. (He's my favourite part of the film anyway!)
SIX- THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
"Hello, Clarice..."
Forget the TV show, this was Hannibal Lecter's first rodeo. Anthony Hopkins brings the psychotic cannibal to life alongside Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling who's recruited to bring a murderer who skins his victims into custody. However, not only does Starling find it hard to deal with the charming Hannibal Lecter, she also has to cope with the fact that Lecter escapes after helping her too.
I'm not keen on this genre usually but this film stands out because of Anthony Hopkins. He's already such a diverse actor but in this film he really gets his creep on. What makes it better is that, sometimes, it looks like Jodie Foster is actually creeped out herself by Hopkins which makes the dynamic between them even better to watch. It's a shame that Foster didn't return for the second film but, for this moment, Silence of the Lambs is a film that's all about chemistry and taste. Especially if your taste is human skin.
FIVE- AVENGERS ASSEMBLE (2012)
"Doth mother know, you weareth her drapes...?"
Probably one of THE best superhero movies of all time. The first ultimate Marvel geek-out since X Men 1. Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow all team-up to take down Loki, who is attempting to subjugate the Earth with an alien army called the Chitauri (who we later find out is an army controlled by the mad titan Thanos). While Loki appears to win the battle, the Avengers decide he will not win the war. This ultimately leads to a massive battle in New York, which continues to shape the MCU to this day with the Battle referenced in Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World, Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil and more.
As a comic book nerd, this is the film that got me into comics (even though I prefer DC). But still, the dialogue is just fantastic, funny and meaningful. Especially when Iron Man and Thor first meet. It's also clever in how the story continues like a comic book, something which DC are yet to instigate. Marvel are dominating the comic book movie industry and this film shows you exactly why.
FOUR- GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014)
"I am Groot"
Beating the Avengers is the MCU's Space Avengers, The Guardians of the Galaxy. Peter Quill, or Star-Lord, becomes embroiled in the designs of a Kree who is not happy with his planet's recent peace treaty with a rival world, causing him to try and get an Infinity stone in order to destroy it. Leading Quill, an assassin named Gamora, a tree named Groot, a raccoon named Rocket and a blue body-builder named Drax to team up and take him down.
Much like Avengers, the script is gold, as is the soundtrack. The dialogue in this film however is slightly more adult compared to the Avengers which leads to more adult jokes (for example, there's a comment about Quill's ship being as dirty as a Jackson Pollock painting, which is borne out of Quill discussing his promiscuous lifestyle). But the film is made by the comments between Drax and Rocket who are both too sassy for his own good. Though Drax has attracted many Autistic fans who can relate to him which gives the film an added layer of awesome. And that soundtrack though...
THREE- SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
"FUBAR!"
Number 3 is another Tom Hanks movie. Which, to me, is only one better than Forrest Gump. From Vietnam back to World War II just as D-Day gets underway, Tom Hanks leads a platoon across France to retrieve a Private Ryan (played by Matt Damon) who has somehow got himself a free pass out of the war after two of his brothers are KIA.
Although the film is very American, and implies that the Americans single-handedly won World War II, it is a sweet film which shows the comrade-ship that would've been present at that time. The relationship between the group is very brother-like, despite the fact all of them are disillusioned as to why Ryan gets to go home and they don't. It's been one of my favourite films since I was 13 when I first saw it and it remains one of them to this day.
TWO (I)- GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997)
"Real loss is only possible when you love something more than you love yourself."
Joint second is a film I saw quite recently for the first time but it did have a very profound impact on me. I saw the film a week after Robin Williams sadly killed himself. Before seeing this, I hadn't seen many of William's serious roles. In fact, Dead Poet's Society is the most serious I'd seen him and I was much more used to his sillier roles like Jumanji, Patch Adams and Ramon in Happy Feet. But it was in this film that I truly appreciated Williams as an actor. I'd always loved him and I always found him amazing but I didn't truly understand how brilliant he really was until I saw him as Sean MacGuire.
In the film, Williams plays a man who attempts to help a mathematically gifted janitor realise is full potential but the pair clash and MacGuire has to become much more rigid in order to get through to him. Throughout the film, I was just completely gobsmacked at the chemistry between Matt Damon (Will Hunting) and Williams who seemed to completely bounce off each other with perfection. The chemistry between Damon and Ben Affleck (who plays Will's best friend) was to be expected given they are best friends in reality but the chemistry between Damon and Williams is just phenomenal and a true genius stroke.
TWO (II)- MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM (2013)
"It is an ideal for which I am prepared to die"
The film about the life of Nelson Mandela. I saw this in the cinema a week after he died and it struck me as strange for many reasons. 1) 2 of the 3 girls I went to the cinema with didn't know what Mandela was famous for. 2) The start of the film (which was in post-production months before Mandela actually died) sounds like he was already dead. 3) They definitely went with the black defense for Sharpeville which shocked me slightly. But Idris Elba as Mandela was a surprisingly good choice. Elba portrayed him very well, as did Naomie Harris as Mandela's long-suffering wife, Winnie. The film, while highlighting the much juicier parts of his life, also delves more into his personal life, some of which many people may not have known. Did you know for example he cheated on his first wife? I didn't before seeing that. It showed Nelson in a slightly more human light rather than just showing him as the Elder Statesman that people still view him as to this day.
Given that Mandela is my favourite person from history, it seems natural that the film is up there but I'm glad that the team behind it really paid close attention and detail to his struggle and the effects it had both on him, his family and the country of South Africa as a whole. It was very well produced and that's why I love it.
One- THE GREEN MILE (1999)
"I helped it. Didn't I help it? I just took it back, is all. Awful tired now, boss. Dog tired".
Now, my favourite film of all time is a Tom Hanks film. The Green Mile. A story set in an American Death Row prison where a strange black inmate starts to affect events with his mysterious gift, while facing the death penalty for the murder of two girls which no one is really sure he didn't commit. What makes this film special for me is how Michael Clarke Duncan portrays his character and how the viewer starts off disliking him because he's on death row, and then eventually falling in love with him because he's such a lovely man who can't possibly have done what they say he did.
Despite this, the film is both graphic and clever. Not only is there a death scene which is extremely graphic (after a guard messes up the death process and commits overkill) but it's also clever in how it all comes full circle at the end. I watched this film on my own in the dark a few years ago while mum was out and I certainly did not regret it.
So there we have it. Feel free to tell me yours! I'm certainly hoping Iska might...your new challenge Iska...good luck :P
