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My favourite films in all the world
Aliens (1986) | James Cameron's Epic "War in Space" movie. The Wachowski Brothers should have watched this a few more times |
Almost Famous (2000) | Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical tale of life on the road with a band in the 70s. |
Amadeus (1984) | Gorgeous shot and acted tale of the life (and death) of Mozart. |
American Beauty (1999) | What happens when modern urban life gets too much for you? Here's one answer |
Boogie Nights (1997) | An amazing tale of one man's dream to enter the porn industry. |
Brazil (1985) | 1984 as Farce. By Terry Gilliam |
Chasing Amy (1997) | Kevin Smith's most emotionally mature movie |
Cypher (2003) | One of my top 3 of 2003 - an industrial spy who discovers that everything is not as it seems |
Dead Poets Society (1989) | A moving meditiation on art, life and growing up |
Fantasia/2000 (1999) | While some sections don't quite work, the Firebird is worth the price all by itself |
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) | Perfectly capturing the drive to find the single, perfect day off of life |
Fight Club (1999) | What happens when modern urban life gets too much for you? Here's one answer |
Full Metal Jacket (1987) | The war scenes are impressive, but the training is mindblowing. Literally. |
Go (1999) | One weekend. Three interlocking tales. Nothing ever quite goes to plan |
Happiness (1998) | Somehow this film managed to make even the most horrendous person sympathetic to me |
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) | One of the few horror films to captivate me. The imagery of hell stayed with me for years |
Hellraiser (1987) | Clive Barker's meditation on the breakup of the nuclear family. No, really. |
Hudsucker Proxy, The | My favourite Coen Brother's film. A perfectly recreated 1930's feelgood movie. |
Iron Giant, The (1999) | An almost perfect children's story, brought to the big screen without schmaltz or saccharine |
Jump Tomorrow (2001) | A man on the way to his arranged marriage past all the hurdles life can throw at him. Funny and touching |
Jurassic Park (1993) | Possibly the most perfect action movie of all time. |
L.A. Confidential (1997) | A twisty, 1930s noir that captures the mood perfectly. |
L.A. Story (1991) | Steve Martin's paean to Los Angeles. Witty, smart and touching, without any slapstick at all. |
Léon (1994) | Luc Besson's amazing tale of an assassin and the girl he rescues. Amazing performances and direction. |
Life of Brian (1979) | Monty Python's only real film. "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy" |
Lion King, The (1994) | Disney's Hamlet, complete with amazing visuals, fantastic songs and a Nuremberg Rally of Hyenas… |
Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) | My favourite of the Airplane/Hot Shots style spoofs. Tim Curry, Dennis Leary and William Shatner all ham it up marvellously |
Magnolia (1999) | Multiple stories interlink and overlap in this stylish look at coincidence and family |
Memento (2000) | A triumph of scriptwriting, in this backwards look at a vigilante with severe memory problems |
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) | Sadly unavailable, this look at the life of the incredible Japanese writer, poet, playwright and visionary is a masterpiece |
Mister Frost (1990) | Jeff Goldblum plays a murderous psychiatric patient who thinks he's the devil. A terrible plot in the hands of Hollywood, an intriguing lo-key drama in the hands of the french. |
Monster's Ball (2001) | This look at racism and family steadfastly refused to do what I thought it would. Great performances too. |
Moulin Rouge! (2001) | Baz Luhrmann turns it up to 11 in this tragic love story. |
Naked (1993) | Mike Leigh's witty/depressing look at a man too clever for his own good. Horribly unsympathetic but masterfully done. |
Natural Born Killers (1994) | Oliver Stone turns it up to 11 in his meditation on media, violence and society. |
Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) | Roger Waters has nervous breakdown and turns it into an album. Alan Parker then turns it into a film |
Requiem for a Dream (2000) | Aaron Daronosfky's traumatic look at obsession and the downward spiral of the lives of drug addicts. Probably my favourite score ever |
Reservoir Dogs (1992) | Tarantino's first film was a masterpiece, effortlessly mixing multiple levels of flashback to tell a simple story in an incredibly entertaining way |
Restoration (1995) | Robert Downey Junior plays a doctor elevated to the court of Sam Neill's King Charles the Second. The story of his rise, fall and slow understanding of life is gorgeously told, if a little quick in the second half. |
Romeo + Juliet (1996) | Shakespeare for the teens, Baz Luhrmann shows that you don't have to change the language to make it appeal, so long as you throw in Clair Danes, Leonardo DiCaprio and the occasional bit of gunplay |
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990) | Tom Stoppard's complex and perplexing look at two characters who just don’t matter to the play they're stuck in. |
S.F.W. (1994) | Held hostage and turned into media stars, on their release Stephen Dorff and Reese Witherspoon struggle to cope with celebrity. |
Schindler's List (1993) | Spielberg's incredible adaptation of the book manages to humanise all of the characters while still leaving me aghast at the sheer scale of the horror that occurred. |
Se7en (1995) | David Fincher's _other_ masterpiece, this story of a search for a serial killer in a city where it never stops raining is a tour-de-force of emotional impact, with no real answers for anyone involved. |
Sirens (1994) | Light, easy on the eye and full of imagery, this simple tale of the loss of innocence/naivety of a preacher's wife drew me in with it's magical atmosphere |
South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999) | I like South Park. I was expecting the movie to be pretty funny. I wasn't expecting it to be the funniest thing I'd seen in years |
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) | Possibly the most perfect action movie of all time. |
The Devil's Backbone (2001) | A perfect ghost story set during the Spanish civil war. Gorgeously coloured in shades of desert yellow, this tale of death and revenge in an orphanage is genuinely haunting |
Trainspotting (1996) | The hip british film of the 1990s. Darkyl humorous, starkly unpleasant, amazing soundtrack. Perfect in every way. |
Unforgiven (1992) | My favourite western (and I'm not a fan of the genre), this tale of a gunfighter who doesn't want to get back in the saddle and the sad, chaotic consequences is most notable for the humanity of all the people involved. |
Warrior, The (2001) | An Indian legend, of a warrior who leaves his lord's service when he tires of the endless killing. Very little action, but this simple tale is lent epic scope by the incredible scenery. |
When Harry Met Sally... (1989) | A fantastic movie about two people who just can't get along, encountering each other every few years and arguing about the differences between men and women |
Where the Heart Is (1990) | An underlooked John Boorman film, this lyrical tale of a family finding something magical inside themselves gets to me every time. |
Yellow Submarine (1968) | Blue Meanies, Pepperland, The Beatles. Magical, Hallucinogenic and just plain fun. Soundtrack's not bad either. |
Just missing the list | |
Kill Bill | Wait until I've seen both parts… |
Lord of the Rings | When I've seen all three extended editions, _then_ I'll make my final decision. But yeah, it seems likely. |
flame one!
Date: 2003-12-19 09:15 am (UTC)Ironic, since the theme is 20-something guys' struggle with their own emotional immaturity.
Re: flame one!
Date: 2003-12-19 09:18 am (UTC)And not just a collection of dick jokes.
Re: flame one!
Date: 2003-12-19 09:41 am (UTC)Re: flame one!
Date: 2003-12-19 10:01 am (UTC)Re: flame one!
Date: 2003-12-19 10:09 am (UTC)Re: flame one!
Date: 2003-12-19 10:57 am (UTC)Re: flame one!
Date: 2003-12-19 10:58 am (UTC)Re: flame one!
Date: 2003-12-19 10:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-19 11:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-19 11:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-19 11:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-19 11:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-19 12:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-19 02:31 pm (UTC)I'd agree with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern except for the cowardly cut that the director made in the play - that kind of ooo-we-won't-get-away-with-this cowardice really puts me right off.
And Yellow Submarine should probably go on the list: I don't believe I've seen it in more than 20 years, but I still remember it quite vividly.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-19 02:49 pm (UTC)(I haven#t seen the play - Lilian says it's better than the film)
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Date: 2003-12-19 11:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-19 04:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-19 11:30 pm (UTC)Dead Poet's Society certainly wouldn't be on my favourites list - it just annoyed me. Rich privileged white boy being driven to suicide by the discovery that his father won't approve and pay for everything he does: it was like Sophie's Choice, I just wanted to kick the hero for being such a prat.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-19 06:45 pm (UTC)