So as I’ve started writing reviews of films, I thought it’d be a good idea to stop for a bit and talk about some of my favourite films, so that people reading my reviews know what I like. Here I’ve written a list of my top 5 favourite films of all time. This list isn’t a countdown to the greatest cinematic achievements since ancient wizards gifted our modern scientists with the ability to make pictures move. Just the 5 five that have made me think or I’ve enjoyed the most.

Before I start here are some films that nearly made it onto the list that deserve a mention.

· Citizen Kane – often cited as the best film in the history of cinema by many experts, and not without reason. Orson Welles is without doubt the best director of all time and creates a fantastic human story. Very influential and way before its time (1941). When we make first contact with aliens, before they eat our brains and burst out of our stomachs, they must see this film.

· Pulp Fiction – For years I considered Quentin Tarantino to be the best director since Orson Welles. Sadly I’ve hated with a passion everything he’s done since this film, which is what keeps it out of the top 5. But this still remains a triumph for film, and is very cleverly made with complex and original story lines running through the film, no character left without their own story to tell.

· The Dark Knight – it’s a funny time we live in where films based on cartoons are becoming the best selling films of the year. But not without reason, and this is the best of the lot so far. Incredibly clever ideas and themes are interwoven with exciting action sequences and seamless effects. A modern classic.

· Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – Spielberg at his finest along with a George Lucas while still he bothered to tell stories and didn’t rely on CGI to make up for a lack of story. This is the essential adventure film, exciting and amusing. With classic scenes that are imprinted into the minds of every person in the Western world. And Indiana Jones meets James Bond in this film

· 2001: A Space Odyssey – Stanley Kubrick at his best with astonishing effects that are still better than most CGI even now more than 40 years later. It is the perfect vision of what the millennium should have brought us. And here we are in 2009. By now we should have reached deep space and be having battles with Klingons while William Shatner flies through space with a crew he treats like shit

· Planet of the Apes – 1968 was a great year for Sci fi. Planet of the Apes starring Charlton Heston was released in the same year as 2001, but this time with a much darker story line with a truly horrifying outcome. Without doubt THE best ending ever.

· Full Metal Jacket – don’t worry this is the last one before the list. Another top notch Stanley Kubrick film, this time set during the Vietnam war. Definitely a film of two halves with the first dealing with the abuse of soldiers during training, and the second dealing with the horrors of the war itself. Far superior to the overrated and overly long Apocalypse now, definitely one to see while you’re still on this earth. Now read on and find the top 5. WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION?


5. Point Break (1991)

These days when you say Keanu Reeves most people think of the Matrix or Speed. But waaaay back in the early 1990s the only thing anyone really knew him for was Bill and Ted. Then in 1991 came Point Break… a film about surfing.

When I first saw this film I was with two friends in my bedroom after two solid days of movies as part of our three-day movie marathon. This was the last film that we watched before Die Hard. And by the time we were half way through that, I’d become so tired that I could no longer understand English.

The plot revolves around an under cover police officer named Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), who is sent to investigate a series of bank robberies by a gang named the ‘ex-presidents’. Working under the idea that the robbers are in fact surfers Johnny falls in with a bunch of adrenaline junkies who live their lives in accordance to what brings them the most personal freedom.

. During the film Johnny slowly becomes a close friend of the leader of the surfer named Bodhi (Patrick Swayze). As the two of them become closer, Johnny is persuaded and intrigued by Bodhi’s activities, lifestyle and his philosophies. While this is happening, you as the audience are drawn into the social conflictions that Johnny experiences where he must do his job, but feels he must remain loyal to Bodhi.

To this day I believe that the Fast and the Furious would have been a brilliant film…

IF IT HADN’T STOLEN THE WHOLE IDEA FROM POINT BREAK.

But to be fair to it, there were cars in there. That makes all the difference.

Point Break is possibly the best action movie ever made. With gunfights to rival Scarface, parachute fights, and a guy that screams and then empties his clips into the sky… and if that sounds familiar, this is the film where Hot Fuzz got that from.

From start to finish this film demonstrates exactly what people love about Keanu Reeves. I admit that some people feel that his performance in the day the Earth Stood Still was just dire. But that was just an inferior film.

After watching this film the only thing that will stop you from running away from home to join the FBI and shoot at surfing drug dealers is what Simon Pegg said in Hot fuzz. ‘Such violence would require a considerable amount of paperwork’.


Also wins for being: the film with the best Richard Nixon joke ever made


4. Terminator 2 (1991)

What can I say about this film that hasn’t already been said?

Well to be honest I’m boring so nothing… but here’s what I think of it.

Before James Cameron made Titanic (the biggest selling film of all time), he was most famous for his Sci Fi films ‘Terminator’ 1 & 2 and ‘Aliens’. All three of which are now considered to be modern sci fi classics, and are certainly extremely influential on the science fiction we see today.

In 1984, James Cameron made the low budget film ‘The Terminator’ starring a then relatively unknown Arnold Schwarzenegger as an evil robot from the future sent back to kill the mother of the leader of the human resistance Sarah Connor. I do explain the back-story of the series in far more detail in my T4 review so I’ll get on with T2 in this one.

What really appeals to me about this film is that when James Cameron made this film, he made the decision to bring back Arnold Schwarzenegger to his signature role. But he was bold enough to take the risk to turn him into the hero of the film.

As I grew up after this film was made, and didn’t see it until 10 years afterwards. I wasn’t too shocked about Arnie being the good guy, because as with every great film, there are so many jokes about them in the Simpsons and other cartoons that give away the story to kids that have never seen the film. But for fans of T1 going to see T2 in 1991 (assuming that their friends didn’t ruin it for them) they had no clue that Arnie was the good guy.

While the first film deals with Sarah Connor, being chased by a something completely alien to her. In T2, John Connor has been taken away from his mother and has been convinced that what she preached to him about the terminators and the apocalypse is bullshit. And when the terminator shows up John is immediately thrown back into his memories of rejection at being different to all the kids at school who were ‘all into Nintendo’. As this happens John develops a loving relationship with the terminator in a father son relationship.

But while this happens Sarah Connor still fears the Terminator due to its resemblance to the unstoppable machine that tried to kill her 10 years earlier. Severe conflicts occur during the film and emotional tension leads to a heart-wrenching ending that will always live on in the minds of anyone who has seen this film. TRUE MEN CRY AT T2!

Along with all of the emotional tension, expertly created by James Cameron. He also creates greatest villain in film history in the form of the T-1000. This machine can transform to make itself look like anyone it wants to and did I mention? It can STAB people with its hands. Adding to this he doesn’t half have a way with words. He KNOWS what hurts.
Sadly this film is tarnished by its own success, and even though the end to this film is pretty conclusive, the many fans of this film demanded a sequel. Sadly James Cameron did not return to make another sequel and Jonathan Mostow made T3 and McG made T4. both were horribly bad films which I advise you never to see.

Ironically this is the best sequel ever made by James Cameron the master of all sequels. Even though we’re still waiting for Titanic 2.

However, this film still remains one the all time great sci fi classics without becoming so cerebral that mainstream audiences can’t appreciate it. This is an immensely thought provoking but at the same time exciting film and people will watch this throughout all time. The best sci fi movie ever.

Also wins for: being the perfect example of a film that really shouldn’t have had a sequel.


3. Fight Club (1999)

I don’t think I was alone in thinking that Brad Pitt was a pretty boy before I saw this film. And sadly some people still do think of him in that way. But this film is a true gem that shows off his acting abilities as possibly the best actor of his generation. Not forgetting his interaction with Edward Norton to make a wonderful film full of anti establishment messages and excitement.

Edward Norton plays an insomniac employee of an automobile company who feels trapped in the world he lives in. While trying everything to escape his horrible life and to cure his insomnia he attends every single help session he hears about until he meets the mysterious Tyler Durbin (Brad Pitt) on a business plane flight who leads him to his derelict house right after he beats the crap out of him. Norton slowly realises that if his escape will come through releasing his stress in fighting.

He and Tyler Durbin then set up a secret fight club where other men with problems come to fight one another. From here the film descends into a tale of self-discovery and mystery as Norton begins to feel that he is losing his mind.

Filled with memorable lines that will unite fans of this film no matter what their colour, creed or religion. It is a film that is becoming more and more popular and needs to be seen for it to be really understood.

Yes it is VERY violent but don’t let that put you off, it is a brilliant film with an ending that I genuinely did not see coming. Now go see it before the Simpsons ruins the ending for you.

Also wins for: being the film that I really have found hardest to describe without really giving it away

2. Blade Runner (1982)

Remember when I said that Terminator 2 was the best sci fi movie ever???

I LIED!

Based upon Phillip K. Dick’s novel ‘do androids dream of electric sheep’ I think (even though it is entirely different) that this is the best film adaptation of all time. Even though Harrison Ford will always be remembered as being Han Solo and Indiana Jones, to me he seems right at home in the position of Deckard.

Set in the very far future of 2019 after a nuclear war that kills most animal life and causes night and rain constantly. Humanity has expanded to colonies away from Earth and has produced the technology to create cheap labour in the form of human replicants. However, due to how advanced this technology actually is the replicants start to gain human emotions after a few years and have to be given a 4-year lifespan in order to stop rebellion. Due to the development of human emotions and the possibility of rebellion, replicants who wish to extend their lifespan are illegal on Earth.

In order to hunt down any replicants that make it to Earth, the police forms a new branch of law enforcement where special detectives called ‘Blade Runners’ hunt down the replicants. Deckard is one of these ‘Blade Runners’.

Director Ridley Scott gives this story the amazing backdrop of a dystopian Los Angeles with amazing high rise buildings and flying vehicles, which still looks amazing even to this day. But in my opinion the thing that really gives the film its distinctive feeling is the soundtrack. Brilliantly well composed and the most atmospheric sounds I have ever heard.

Our main character in this film shouldn’t really be seen as a hero as such. As throughout the film, Ford’s performance beautifully portrays Deckard’s reluctance to hunt down replicants that only want to have more time to live. Likewise even though the other characters in the film see them as villains, the replicants provide an amazing emotional point of view that doesn’t turn them into heroes, but cleverly helps you sympathise with them, while at the same time not making you turn on Deckard.

Possibly the most interesting part of the film, is the replicant known as Rachael. She is unaware of the fact that she is not human due to the memories implanted in her brain before she was awakened, and as a consequence has no idea what she has actually experienced in her life or what others put into her mind.

These days Hollywood is devious in trying to make you buy the same dvd (or if you’re as fancy as me blu ray) over and over again by sticking ‘director’s cut’ or ‘special, extended or ultimate edition’ (but sadly no ‘penultimate edition’). Well the film you really have to thank for that is Blade Runner. Whereas the original has a voice narration by Harrison Ford, the director’s cut does not. But the main difference between the two versions is just a 5 second scene, which will almost completely pass you by when you see it. But by the end of the film and the credits roll, there are two completely different feelings at the end. Never before or since have I seen anything where the director’s cut has worked so well.

But when you have watched the film and reached the final scene, you will truly see how the future SHOULD be. Seriously, screw all these high tech electronics, computers and HD tv. We should be living our lives in a constant atmospheric night-time with cars flying above our heads and androids running on our streets. But I suppose it’s still 10 years to 2019, we still have time to pull our socks up.

Also wins for: just being plain ace

And finally, here is my favourite film of all time…





1. Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

Right now the likelihood is that you’ve never heard of this film, or that you’ve heard OF it but haven’t seen it. And as well you’re probably a bit confused as to why I’ve put it as my number one film.

Well this film is usually described as a psychological horror or as a war film. Personally I don’t think it’s either of those two. But I do feel that it is very influential in the horror genre, particularly in modern horror such as ‘Saw’, which is one of my favourite horror films.

The story begins in Vietnam, and Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) is an American soldier as part of a platoon that suddenly comes under attack from the Vietcong. From there Jacob’s Platoon is slaughtered and Jacob himself runs off into the jungle and gets lost, where he is stabbed in the chest by an unseen attacker. The film then cuts to Jacob’s life in 1975 where he lives with his second wife having been divorced after his son died shortly after his return from Vietnam.

As Jacob tries to live his life as normal, he finds that wherever he goes he is followed by mysterious figures that appear to have no faces. While Jacob tries to live his life, the film cuts between the present day and Vietnam. In the present day, Jacob becomes ill and begins to hallucinate increasingly violent and disturbing scenes while he is only able to find solace with his chiropractor who works on some of the injuries he sustained during the war.

When the film jumps back to Vietnam we find Jacob’s memories of the bloody battle in which he was stabbed in the chest and his return to the United States where he sees his first wife and his dead son come to greet him.

By the time you’re about three quarters of the way through the film you’ll feel as if you’ve worked it all out. Although I’m quite sure that no one has ever managed to work this film out before the very end. And when the film does come to its very clever end, I think this is where the true greatness of the film comes across and everything snaps into place.

So why is this my favourite film?

Well it clicked with me. Adrian Lyne directed the film to make it look very stark, with most of the scenes shot outside being overcast. This is far more important than it might seem, as you begin to relate to it more and more as Jacob’s sanity seems to leak away throughout.

You will probably never see this film in any list of 100 greatest films. It is either omitted from or at the very end of any list of films involving Vietnam and is basically seen as a minor part of Tim Robbins’ career. But this is a truly great story and really it makes you think.

I don’t think that this film will ever be considered a classic, and I don’t know why but it seems to have already been forgotten about after 19 years since its release. But my advice is to see this film and you’ll see what I mean.

Also wins for: being great but obscure enough to still be able to make your own interpretations about without people repeating what loads of critics have said…

And the Simpsons won’t ruin it