It's been a great week for watching films and I've managed to get in 'Be Kind Rewind' and 'Burn After Reading' at the cinema as well as indulging myself with a viewing of the classic 'The Third Man' at home. Great Movie.
So I thought, what with all the film-making plans that are afoot, it was time to compile my top ten films. Previous favourite 'Carlito's Way' is now out... I just couldn't bear the Burt Bacharach song at the end.
Here they are in reverse order:
10 Teen Wolf
Surfing on vans, keg parties where everyone wears Ray-bans, a werewolf playing basketball: it's a metaphor for puberty you know. Timeless Michael J Fox hilarity.
9 The Untouchables
So I've cast my mind from one Brian De Palma thriller and am backing this one instead. Everything about this production seems so authentic, and Sean Connery is so man he eats sausage with a knife. Grrr.
8 The Living Daylights
You love the Bond you grew up with and that is no exception for me. Dalton's first outing has spies murdering spies, the fully tricked out Aston Martin and cello tobogganing over the Austrian Alps. It doesn't get better than that.
7 Be Kind Rewind
It's funny when a generation grows up and can then pay tribute to the films of their youth: let's face it, that's how Ben Stiller keeps a steady paycheck (see 'Starsky and Hutch' or 'Nam homage 'Tropic Thunder'). Once the plot of 'Be Kind Rewind' is underway and Jack Black and Mosdef's pair of bumbling idiots begin to make their own versions of 'Ghostbusters', 'Rush Hour 2', 'Robocop' and more, you will be laughing out loud with nostaglic goodness. It also has the best feelgood ending since 'It's a Wonderful Life'.
6 Insomnia
This is the first of Christopher Nolan's films on this list. It shares the illustrative style of 'Batman Begins' and I love the little flashbacks and closeups of blood blotting on cotton. The Alaskan glaciers obviously influenced the snow-topped lair of Ras Al Ghul in the superhero film too. But enough comparisons, this is one of the films that really shows off Al Pacino's abilities and it's great to see Robin Williams not playing a well-meaning dogooder. If you like this, try 'One Hour Photo'... he is as creepy as hell in that too.
5 He Got Game
This is surely Spike Lee at his best: moments of vox pop documentary intertwined with a compelling story about a father trying to reconnect with his son. The son happens to be a basketball star and the father has been convicted for the death of his mother. It's gritty. And although Public Enemy may have written the theme tune, it's great to see how Lee shares his love for basketball by combining orchestral music- not rap- to some beautiful slow-mo footage of the game.
4 Leon
Boys like gangster films and this is no exception. Leon is a hitman for the mob who emerges from shadows with a knife at someone's neck. But this is a story with a heart... he takes in 12 year old Matilda when her parents are killed in a drug raid and is bound to protect her. Director Luc Besson uses a thrilling, violent set of events to tell a very human story about loyalty and intimacy. The extended version has about ten more minutes which develop the relationship between the two.
3 The Departed
There had to be a Scorsese film in here, though I'm not sure this is his best. I'll leave it to you to argue over 'Mean Streets', 'Raging Bull' and 'Goodfellas', my other favourites. What I like about 'The Departed' is it is the first Scorsese picture I have seen in the cinema; I was on the edge of my seat for well over two hours, as the tension and body count kept increasing. DiCaprio gives the performance of his life, Nicholson's villain is creepily overexaggerated and for me this is one of the first films that uses mobile phones well to advance the plot. Gory and full of anxiety, but the performances are what carry it off.
2 The Dark Knight
You may have read my review of this film elsewhere on this blog so you'll know I'm a fan. People were quick to point out its flaws and some of them were right: it is long and continuity is lacking between some scenes. For that reason, I hope we get a Director's Cut at some point. However, Nolan's vision of Gotham City is grim and realistic, Ledger is chillingly psychotic and there is a hell of a story in there too- and did you see it at the IMAX? I don't know another superhero film that has managed to comment on the criminal mind and the nature of humanity. I can't wait for the next one... but I'll have to.
1 Children of Men
There are many reasons why this film is special. It portrays the future in such a believable way that it is hard to ignore the commentary on how lost people can be; the idea of incurable infertility makes our other troubles seem so small. And the execution is impeccable: Cuaron creates a dystopia so similar to modern society it is worrying, portraying it with menacing long takes that reveal constant danger. For once, Clive Owen gives a decent performance as Theo which is augmented by the presence of Julianne Moore and Michael Caine. A masterpiece.
