Top Twenty Films (Part Two)

And welcome to part two of the list of my favourite films. Again, there's a bit of a mix and match here, but hopefully you'll see why I like these films. But anyway, here we are, part two and my top ten favourite films.

10. Goldeneye (1995)

Everyone has their favourite Bond, it's normally Sean Connery, sometimes it's Roger Moore or Timothy Dalton, mine is Pierce Brosnan, and my favourite Bond film is Goldeneye. Here Bond (Brosnan) finds rogue Russian General Ourumov (Gottfried John) and his Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) have stolen a secret Russian satellite EMP cannon, codenamed Goldeneye. Bond later finds that they are working for a mysterious man named Janus, who turns out to be Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean), a former MI6 agent who Bond thought was long dead.

This was the first Bond film I have ever watched, the one that introduced me to the 007 franchise. And I've never looked back since. There was action, there was drama, there were one liners, there was everything traditional for a Bond film. I was drawn in by Brosnan's Bond, I found him charming and sophisticated, and yet he can turn into a killing machine at the click of a finger. Or in this film's case the clicking of a pen.

Too be honest, this film has my favourite...well, everything Bond. It has my favourite Bond. It has my favourite Bond villain, in which Bond is betrayed by his closest friend, a villain who has been trained by MI6 and has become one of the most dangerous foes Bond has ever faced, and he was brilliantly played by Bean, this is why Trevelyan became my second favourite movie villain. This film has one of my favourite car chase scenes, simply because it has Bond chasing the villains IN A TANK.

Hell, it has my favourite Bond girl! Natalya Simonova (Izabella Scorupco) is everything I look for in a Bond girl, she's sexy, she's smart, she's funny, she's likable, Hell, she's USEFUL, she hacks into the Goldeneye system and sends it crashing to Earth, she holds a helicopter pilot hostage and steals the helicopter for an escape vehicle for her and Bond, she tricks Onatopp into thinking she's hiding somewhere else, Hell she tracks down Trevelyan's base!

Quite simply, this is pretty much my favourite action film.

9. The Dark Knight (2008)

This was going to be a tie between this film (Obviously) and 'Batman Returns (1992), but, let's be honest, 'The Dark Knight' is the superior film. Even if it does have Maggie Gyllenhaal. Three years after stopping Ra's al Ghul and the Scarecrow, Batman (Christian Bale) faces his greatest challenge (And most iconic foe), the Joker (Heath Ledger).

Okay, we might as well get it out the way, the main reason why I love this film, is because of Heath Ledger. It's been said a hundred times, Ledger was brilliant in this. So brilliant he effectively ruined 'The Dark Knight Rises' since that film had a less memorable villain.

Yes, everything else is great, the story, the acting, the effects, but it's truly the Joker that makes this film, and it's Ledger who makes the Joker. The haunting presence of the Joker leaps off the screen, whenever you see the Joker a chill goes down your spine, you know something horrifying but spectacular is about to happen. The anarchy and chaos we see in the film, the dark overtones, they raise the tensions in this film, the tragic deaths (Part of an ever increasing kill count) bring forth sadness and sorrow, and goes into the psyche of Batman, rather than try to figure out the Joker.

This is quite possibly the greatest film adaptation of a comic character ever. Well, actually I suppose there's the Avengers.

8. Night of the Living Dead (1968)/Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Okay, I'm cheating a little. But I really couldn't decide which film I prefer. They're both pretty much the perfect zombie films in existence, both deal with the increasing tension of being trapped in an area surrounded by an ever increasing zombie hoard, both deal with trying to survive, both are brilliant horror films.

Basically these films defined the zombie genre, as well as 'Day of the Dead'. By all means it didn't invent zombies, there are zombie novels dating back to the Epic of Gilgamesh, but if these films weren't around, I seriously doubt we'd have all the zombie films or Walking Dead related stuff we have now.

For the time the effects were brilliant, the blood and gore used was extremely effective. The acting just adds to both of the films, and while 'Dawn' is still a brilliant zombie film, the black and white of 'Night' really intensifies the film. I have seen the colour version of 'Night' and it does seem to be less effective than the black and white version.

If you have not seen the holy trilogy of zombie films, there's something wrong with you.

7. Murder by Death (1976)

I love murder mysteries. I admit I only recently got into them (Though I always loved 'Death on the Nile'...wait why isn't that on this list?) but I do love them. But I do also love spoofs, and this film manages to blend the two nicely.

Featuring some amazing talent with legendary big names, including Sir Alec Guinness, Peter Falk, David Niven, Maggie Smith, Peter Sellers, James Cromwell, and Elsa Lanchester (Who I've only just found out plays the Bride in 'Bride of Frankenstein'), there is no problem with the acting in this film.

The comedy is fantastic. It manages to make those little things we like from murder mysteries and give them some good humor, whilst also taking those cliche and nitpicky bits, like the villain at the end saying his motive is because mystery writers purposely hold back information, normally introduce new characters, and generally just making sure the reader can never guess who did it, something which the detectives themselves were just doing only a few moments ago.

The humor doesn't pull any punches either, especially when it concerns stereotypical humor. Heck, one of my favourite moments was when Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers) is accused of being the killer when it's revealed Lionel Twain (Truman Capote):
Wang: He loved me very much, but he was not very observant. One day, when I was 19, he called me into his study, noticed for first time I was Oriental, and kicked me out of house!

Such amazing talent and such amazing humor, this is a brilliant spoof.

6. Battle Royale (2000)

It's quite rare when an adaptation actually makes things better than the novel. This is one of them. Sure they're minor things, but anyway this film is purely one of the best adaptations of all time.

In Japan rebellious teens run rampant, so much so that the government passes the Battle Royale Act; every year a class is selected and put on an island where they battle each other to the death. Why the kids don't seem to know about it since it appears the event is televised, I don't know.

Anyway, this is one of the most brutal films I have ever seen, with the deaths being some of the most viscous ever seen. It also has some of the most powerful scenes, one particular scene showing the most dangerous contestant, having survived an explosion, walking amongst the flames and appearing to be the devil. Another is set at a lighthouse, and it shows just how quickly people can turn on each other.

This film is pretty much all about what people can do when pushed to their very limits, it makes you think what would you do in their circumstances; would you be able to kill another person, your class mate, your best friend? An American remake has been in limbo since 2006, although it never went pass Go. Following the release of 'The Hunger Games' the remake has apparently shelved the remake for good, or as producer Roy Lee says "he may come back to it in ten years". That's ten more years of enjoying the original before the crap remake then.

5. The Lost Boys (1987)

Upon moving to the murder capital of the world, a.k.a Santa Carla, Michael (Jason Patric) meets David (Kiefer Sutherland), Star (Jami Gertz) and their group of rebellious youngsters, while Michael's brother Sam (Corey Haim) meets the Frog brothers (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander). Spending the evening with David and his crew and Michael, he wakes up to find himself acting differently. He finds that David and his gang are vampires, and they've just turned Michael. Michael, Sam, Star and (The amateur vampire hunters) the Frog brothers, find themselves in a battle against David's gang.

This is a brilliant film, and, since 'Twilight' ruined vampires and werewolves, is effectively the vampire film I like now. Well this and 'Dracula: Dead and Loving It'. Anyway, this film captures the feeling of the 80s brilliantly; the rebellious teens wanting to party all day and rock all night. The cast put their all behind their characters, and the film has one of the best soundtracks of all time.

It is a brilliant film that is for definite. And then the sequels came along.

4. Jurassic Park (1993)

If you haven't seen this where have you been? Here John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) invites Alan Grant (Sam Neil), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and others to his island, where they find that Hammond and his scientists have brought back to life dinosaurs. However a rival company hire Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) to steal dinosaur DNA. This requires shutting down the power to the island. However he gets killed on the way to his rendezvous and the dinosaurs, particularly the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptors break free of the now depowered electric fences.

This was the film that got me into dinosaurs as a kid. I was absolutely blown away when I watched this as a child, and I still love it now. The characters are interesting, it has some brilliant memorable moments (The lawyer on the toilet, anyone?), terrific storyline, and the effects, oh God the effects! I remember on Film Brain's review of 'The Dinosaur Project' where he says the effects are getting a bit dated, personally I don't know what he's on about since the dinosaur effects here are perfect (They're especially better than most effects nowadays). I mean, look at the photo. That Tyrannosaurus Rex looks real, it looks superb, it looks alive.


3. The Lawnmower Man (1992)

Okay, I said that 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' was the odd one out on this list. In actual fact I suppose you could say this film is actually the odd one out. Is it a good adaptation? No, they changed so much Stephen King sued for his name being taken off.

And yet, as you can tell, this is one of my favourite films of all time. Why? Well like 'The Dark Knight', it's all down to the villain. The story follows Jobe (Jeff Fahey), a mentally challenged individual who is recruited by Doctor Lawrence Angelo (Pierce Brosnan) who is trying to create intelligence enhancing drugs. The drugs work and Jobe starts to get smarter. Angelo's bosses however, wanting to use it for military training, get Angelo's supervisor swaps out the current treatment for the old formula, a formula which made a chimp go homicidal. The result is that Jobe goes homicidal and gains a lust for power.

Jeff Fahey is officially the best actor ever because of his performance in this. I don't see many people capable of playing the mentally challenge Jobe, and then taking the character to psychotic genius. We truly feel sympathy for Jobe, and it's all because of what how the film portrays him. He may have become a psychopath with the powers of a God, and yet we don't want him to fail. It also makes you think twice about answering the telephone.

2. The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)

Just like 'Jurassic Park' got me into dinosaurs, 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' got me into trains. The film looks at Vicar Sam Weech (George Relph), Gordon Chesterford (John Gregson), and Walter Valentine (Stanley Holloway) band together to save their train line, fighting of opposition from a bus company.

This is the earliest film I remember watching, and I still love it today. I love the characters, I love the drama, the humor, the plot, the setting, I love the fact that one of the scenes is a battle between a train and a steam roller. I love how everyone comes together to protect something so precious to them, how the community and even other parts of the country come together to support them.

1. What's Up Doc? (1972)

This film is bloody brilliant. This film shows what kind of chaos can be created when four people with the same type of bag, and how a city can be brought to its knees because of it.

The acting is brilliant, the comedy is terrific, the plot is fantastic, and, like 'Goldeneye' had one of my favourite car chases, this film has my actual favourite car chase, which involved several cars, a bike, a pane of glass, and a Chinese dragon. I will get back to these car chases another time.

They really don't make comedies like this nowadays, this film is such a masterpiece, there really isn't any denying it. Watch this film, you will not be disappointed.


And there's the top ten of my twenty best films, I apologise for not going into so much detail, but if I did you'd be here for hours. Well, that's it for my one year anniversary, although I have actually done a special video review with the Whalley (http://www.youtube.com/user/TheWhalley100) which will be coming soo, I just need to film one final scene, the problem is finding someone to do it. Anyway that will be coming soon, but coming up in October, I'm returning to the zombie genre!

Top Twenty Films (Part One)

And so to round things off in my one year anniversary, I'm going to list the films which are my personal favourites. Now the reason why I'm doing a top twenty list is because, well, whenever you're asked what your favourite film is, you always struggle because you always think of loads of films. And I did in fact find in difficult to narrow down a top twenty list, just like the top twenty Supernatural episodes, I have missed quite a few films off this list that I wanted to put on, like 'Return of the Jedi', 'Lost in Translation', 'Of Mice and Men', and many others.

But after painstakingly narrowing it down, here are my personal top twenty films. So far.

20. City of God (2002)

I'll be honest, when I first saw this film I wasn't really looking forward to it. It was in fact the first film with subtitles I ever saw, or the earliest I remember seeing, and so I initially thought that the subtitles would intrude on the film, that, and I didn't actually like gangster/criminal underworld films that much. I just found them boring and, effectively, the same film over and over again.

Once I saw this though, I was completely blown away. This wasn't the crime drama I expected. It follows two people, Rocket (Alexandre Rodriguez) and Lil Ze (Leandro Firmino). Rocket wants to get out of the slums and live a great life as a photographer, he doesn't want to be drawn into the criminal life his older brother and his friends are in. Lil Ze, called Lil Dice as a kid, however lives in awe of the criminal life and becomes the slums most notorious drug lord. His relations with the other big drug lord Carrot (Matheus Nachtergaele) quickly becomes sour and the slums are plunged into a huge gang war.

The story is well thought out and flows perfectly, even if it does follow about thirty different plots. The subtitles, they don't intrude on the film at all, in fact most of my DVDs involve subtitles, like 'Downfall', 'Tidal Wave', and 'Heaven's Soldiers'. The subtitles have effectively become another character in the film. The characters themselves are all well thought out and so complex, that even the sociopath Lil Ze is likable. In fact, Nachtergaele is the only professional actor in this, everyone else was brought in from the local area and even the real life City of God slum, which is truly amazing when you see the acting in the film, you wouldn't have thought that this was effectively their professional debut.

Really, this film is truly awesome, it is quite simply superb in every way; the setting, the characters, the effects, the grittiness, the story. You can see how much passion was put into this film, how much effort must have been involved in the production. I have not seen a crime drama like this since, and deserves to be on your list of films you have to see before you die.

19. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

South Park is one of those things which doesn't seem to age. It's always up to date, and even when you look back on an episode that's years old, the humor is still there. With the rise of South Park's popularity from the odd short to a full television series, a film was inevitable. And boy what a film it was. The boys go to see the new Terrance and Phillip film 'Asses of Fire', and copy the obscene use of swearing used in it. The parents overreact and this leads the arrest of Terrance and Phillip, the Canadians bombing the Baldwin family in retaliation, and the US declaring war on Canada.

Like I said, this film doesn't age, it's hard to imagine this film is thirteen years old and yet the topics the film raises are still present today. The songs used are well performed and rival those in proper musicals, they are the songs that you tend to sing whenever you feel like. And with all that the film still retains it's dark and satire humor, which is hilarious by the way.

I do recall some magazine with the Cartman and the South Park version of Bart Simpson, with the caption (Along the lines of) "our film came out eight years before yours, and it was still better", and I have to agree. Yes I am now comparing movies. The South Park movie, for the third time, has not aged, it doesn't get old or boring, the Simpsons Movie however, each time I watch it I seem to hate it more (I did like it at first, don't get me wrong).


The animation may be a little dated, especially compared to recent seasons, but the film is still hugely popular. Everything is superb in it, it really goes to show that South Park is going from strength to strength, I wouldn't be surprised if Matt Stone and Trey Parker announce they're planning to do a second film.

18. Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

This is pretty much the odd one out on this list, since it's the only one that's really aimed being family friendly. But Hell, I love this film. The year is 1940, and Nazi Germany has begun the Blitz. Miss Price (Angela Lansbury) is tasked to look after three kids, Charlie, Carrie and Paul (Ian Weighill, Cindy O'Callaghan, and Roy Snart respectively). It turns out Miss Price is a witch in training, but the school she's receiving lessons from has closed due to the war, so she can't get the last spell. She takes the kids to London using a teleporting bed, meets up with Emelius Brown (David Tomlinson), and they all go on a journey to find the last spell, before being captured by a Nazi squadron.

This film is brilliant. Is it dated? Yeah, but I still love it. The story is enchanting, the songs are brilliant, Portobello Road and The Old Home Guard are my personal favourites, heck, The Old Home Guard pretty much shows that the men are prepared to lay down their lives to protect their homes. The acting is fantastic, the animation meets live action is actually well pulled off (Better than most films which do it nowadays), and it has one of the most awesome scenes in cinema history, but I'll get to that in another post.

This is truly an entertaining film, for all ages. For the most part the children will be entertained, especially by the Island of Naboombu, and for the adults when the Nazis attempt to disrupt the country as a test for the German invasion of Britain. This film is just marvelous.

17. Three Amigos! (1986)

In this film Carmen (Patrice Martinez), while in town seeking help from the bandit El Guapo (Alfonso Arau), and sees a film of the Three Amigos (Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short), and tries to send a telegram, thinking they're real heroes. Her telegram is edited down as she does not have enough money to afford the full message. Meanwhile the three actors behind the franchise find themselves suddenly unemployed when they demand a raise in salary. At this time they receive the telegram, but as it was edited down they believe it is just for a show.

This film is so wonderfully created. Some great humor, terrific acting, a brilliant clash of cultures, and a memorable villain in El Guapo. The story is fantastic as well, showing how these actors, who are a mix of selfish, scared, and obnoxious, come together to, not only help themselves achieve a better way of life (Which doesn't include fame), but also help the village find a way to solve their problems by themselves, rather than running scared themselves.

16. It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)

They really don't make comedies like this now. Here a group of travelers witness a car accident and the men go down to help. The old man at the wheel tells the men of $350,000 buried under "a big W". Initially the group decide to ignore it and continue their journey, but then find that they're all thinking about going to find the money. They discuss working together but can't work out a way to share money, which leads to a race across the country, which becomes more and more chaotic as more people get involved.

This film is hilarious, the jokes are well thought out, creative, and invented, and the interaction and chemistry between the characters is truly amazing. But despite this being a screwball comedy, there's a fair bit to think about, namely all the chaos caused for the sake of money which would probably be used to pay for all the damage caused.

It's a bit long winded, I'll give you that, even the DVD version has an interval put in, but there is not one moment where you aren't entertained.


15. The Full Monty (1997)

Yes, yes, yes, cue the "oh you like seeing men strip?" jokes ha ha ha. That's not what this film is about. Well, okay it is, but that's only part of it. Six unemployed men in the 1980s recession (Played by Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber, Steve Huison, and Hugo Speer) decide to perform a striptease, solely for the money, but only because their lives are going in a downward spiral; Gaz (Carlyle) needs the money to pay child support and continue seeing his son, Gerald (Wilkinson) can't bare to tell his wife he lost his job and she's spending like there's no tomorrow, while the others just simply need the money in order to have a life.

In some ways, this film is about accepting who you are, rather then an unemployment film; Dave (Addy) has weight issues, Lomper (Huison) and Guy (Speer) are gay in a time when gayness...um...wasn't that popular I suppose is the best way of saying it. But as the film progresses, we see that when Gaz and Dave find that Lomper and Guy are together, they don't actually care, while Dave finds that people also don't care that he's on the chubby side, it's the person that counts, not the appearance. Hell, Dave thinks he's overweight and unfit, and yet he manages to catch up with Gaz when Gaz attempts to shoplift the store Dave now works at as a security guard. Okay yes a trolley helped but the point still remains.

But the film also shows the lengths that these men would go to for the ones they love, even if it means humiliation in the local community. It also shows the lengths people will go to when times are tough, just in order to make a living. I'm actually surprised it isn't gaining a resurgence in popularity in these tough times.

Everything is just sublime, the acting, the story, the characters. This really is one of the best British films ever made.

14. Up (2009)

I only watched this film, hmm, about two, three months back, and, like 'City of God', it just blew me away. In 'Up' Carl Fredricksen (Edward Asner) ties hundreds of balloons to the house he and his late wife, Ellie, built together, in order to escape the sad life he has and go on the adventure he and Ellie had been putting off since they were kids, to Paradise Falls. However he picks up junior adventure Russell (Jordan Nagai) by accident. Together they go to Paradise Falls where they meet up with Dug the talking dog (Bob Petersen), Kevin the huge bird, and legendary adventurer Charles F. Muntz (Christopher Plummer) who has gone slightly homicidal.

This film has the capability to go through so many emotions in so little time, the opening is the best example. This is something I want to go over in another post, so like the 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' one, I'll leave it for now. But for those who know what I'm on about, they'll agree that it is probably the best opening to a film ever. We are told so much in so little time, we go through so many emotions, humor, drama, love, saddness, it's just a fantastic piece of storytelling, and it's only the first ten minutes! And this film is full of moments like that.

This film is virtually flawless now that I think about it, the characters, the story, there's really nothing bad to say about this film. This film is absolutely fantastic.

13. Ghost (1990)

It's a comedy, it's a thriller, it's a murder mystery, it's a love story, it's all these things rolled into one. Here Sam (Patrick Swayze) stumbles onto some illegal activities and ends up murdered. Sam however does not go into the light, possibly due to confusion, and ends up staying on Earth. With the help of a psychic (Whoopi Goldberg) he finds that his loved one (Demi Moore) is in terrible danger.

Okay, how could this film not be on this list? This film has some of the best visuals ever used in a film, it has one of the best plots ever, it has some of the best acting ever. The plot is so intriguing, it pulls you in so much you find it hard to pull yourself away.

In all honesty though it does now feel weird watching a film where Patrick Swayze plays a dead person now that he's actually dead. But the film still has so much power, so much passion, it's impossible not to get lost in it.

12. The Fog (1980)

Now this is a horror film. Okay it wasn't really that well received but this is MY favourite films list, and I for one love this film. Antonio Bay is celebrating its one hundredth anniversary, but the ghosts of Blake and his men (Who had leprosy) want revenge for the town's ancestors who tricked them into crashing their ship on the rocks, sinking the ship and claiming the lives of all on board.

The main reason why I liked this film was because it is a horror film for adults. It's not like horror films nowadays where they generally aim it at teenagers, for the time this film was released, this was a scary film. It's dated, definitely, but I still love the film.

The tension the film creates definitely helps generate the scares, and, even on a low budget, this film was really effective. It has a solid story which takes in a life of its own, we see sacrifice, we see love, we see terror take hold. I really do think this is one of the best horror films ever. I'm just glad that there isn't a crappy remake which completely ruins any integrity this film has. Except for

THIS ONE! (Yes, I will be doing this film at some point, maybe November)

11. The Italian Job (1969)

This list would feel incomplete without Michael Caine wouldn't it? Okay there's a second part but still. Michael Caine plays Charlie Croker, a recently released convict who organises a robbery to steal a shipment of gold in Turin, Italy.

This film has one of the best car chases in cinematic history, this film made the Mini infamous. Michael Caine is absolutely brilliant, has one of the most infamous cliffhangers ever devised, one of the best soundtracks, and has some of the most quotable lines of dialogue ever written, namely "Hang on lads, I've got a great idea" and "You were only suppose to blow the bloody doors off!". This film defined a generation, the acting is terrific, and is generally named one of, if not the best British film of all time.


And there's the first half of my top twenty films, coming up next, the top ten.



Oh, and before I forget, remember my 'Tidal Wave' review? Well, myself and the Whalley have done a Mystery Science Theatre 3000 style take on it. It's our first one so please forgive us for any discrepancies or awfulness  It's the first part but more should be on the way, so please be patient, I myself haven't seen the finished product. Anyway, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4Qd2aKgNd0&feature=plcp
Watch and enjoy folks.