Top Ten Movies of All Time!

Hello fellow moviegoers,

Here is my top five favourite movies of 2007 and following that my top ten films of all time.

Top Five Movies 2007
1. Transformers - I went to the movies to see it and thoroughly enjoyed it and when I bought it on DVD, I watched it 3 times in that one week. I am not a purist fan of transformers. I have a vague to moderate memory of the television series. I think that the film was a great blockbuster/popcorn film. It kept me entertained and I enjoy watching it again and again and can not wait for the sequel in a few years.

2. Sicko - I have enjoyed all of Michael Moore's documentaries (I have not see The Big One though) and am a big fan of his. Sicko is a good mix of bring up issues that are important or of concern to Americans/North Americans and doing so in an entertaining way. It is not too depressing, like Bowling For Columbine or Fahrenheit 9/11 Can be. Very entertaining and scary.

3. No Country For Old Men - I am not a huge fan of the Coen Brothers, but I loved this movie (also the Big Lebowski was hilarious). I read the book before I saw the movie and really believe that The Coen Brothers should win for best adaptation because the book and the film are nearly dead on. I would also like them to win for Best Picture because it was great. It paces slow at time but pays off when the action gets intense. Well developed characters and a tense atmosphere throughout. I highly recommend this film.

4. Pan's Labyrinth - I include this film with 2007's films because althought it was in release before the end of 2006, to qualify for the 2007 oscar's, it was not in full release until 2007, and I bought it when it came out on dvd. It is very dark and depressing. It is a fairytale for adults. It is colourful and magically, but very very dark.

5. Knocked Up - I love this movie; I can keep watching it and still find the humour funny; much like how I feel about 40 Year Old Virgin. It has a great ensemble cast, but is capably headed by Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl. Enjoyable for all ages (except young children cause they will pick up all the curses).

Top 10 Films of All Time (Subject to change with notice; in no particular order)

1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day - In my opinion, this is the greatest action film of all time. Arnold was in his prime in this film, the effects were state of the art; totally cutting edge and at the time it was the most expensive film ever made; 120 million, later to be surpassed by Titanic at 500 million. I love the blended sci-fi and action elements of this film. Other Notable action films include; Die Hard, and Predator.

2. 28 Days Later - The reasons why I love this film include; the music (John murphy's great score and the wonderful use of godspeed you black emperor's East Hastings), the cinematography (shot on digital video gives it a more realistic look), the plot (infected people causing anarchy all over London and feeding on survivors), the apocalyptic elements of the film (the deserted streets, the ruminations on the end of the world in the character dialogue) and the performances (Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, and Christopher Eceleston are all great in this film). See also Trainspotting, and Sunshine.

3. The Celebration - Very anti-Hollywood in how the style operates and how the story is narrated. Shot on digital video makes it look like a home video. Very important narrative information is dealt to the viewer very bluntly and this causes a jolt in the viewer. Shocking in a way that is not gory or bloody or anything visceral like that but shocking in a horrific way as to how evil people can be.

4. Donnie Darko - Very original story; time travel, the apocalypse, living in Reagen Era USA. It is amazing that all of that can be weaved together in an intelligible narrative. The music (both the soundtrack, features 80s music and the film score by Michael Andrews are both very good; I enjoy the score more so, but that may because I was born in 1982 and 'grew up' mostly in the 90s). Casting of 80s icons Drew Barrymore and Patrick Swayze in this film is very cool. Jake Gyllenhaal really carries a lot of this film (the whole cast is very capable but donnie, obviously is the central character) and his character Donnie is very strongly developed. A very good sci-fi thriller/80s film.

5. Chungking Express - Chinese love story/mosaic character narrative; much like all of his films (see also Fallen Angels, Days of Being Wild). Characters are very tied up in American Cliches (flight attendants, 'California Dreaming', blond wigs) and this helps make the film more accessible to North American audiences.

6. Memento - Great score by David Julyan (see my blog on film scores), great story by the director's brother Johnathan Nolan, amazing performances from Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss (Joe Pantaliano does a nice job as well), great dialogue and a complex and complicated weaving narrative that is a challenge to dicipher, but when you do it total adds to the whole film experience. See all of Nolan's films; Following, Insomnia, Batman Begins and The Prestige.

7. American Beauty - Great score by Thomas Newman, great acting (Kevin Spacey [won an oscar for this performance], Annette Benning, Chris Cooper) and an intelligent, emotional story written about life, love, death etc. Chances are you have seen this film and If you have not, why not? It is a great great film. See also Jarhead, but Sam Mendes.

8. Manhunter - Some saw or see this film as a bit campy (that is how my dad said it was received when it was out in theatres). William Petersen, who most people know from CSI, is great in this film; he reads his dialogue with so much emotion, his performance is easily the best in the film; second to it is Tom Noonan's performance as Francis Dollarhyde a.k.a. The Tooth Fairy killer. The style is best described as monochromatic ; devoid of a lot of colour and when colours are featured they are very bland colours. Very nice cinematography by Dante Spinotti. Other notable Michael Mann films include; Miami Vice, Collateral, and Heat.

9. Unbreakable - I prefer this film to the 6th Sense because I feel that the message in this film is more applicable to normal people in their everyday lives. I feel that this message is that if you do what you love/what you are supposed to be doing for a living or with your life that you can sort of be a superhero because you will excel at it and be the best at it that you can be. I also really enjoy the film's score (done beautifully by James Newton Howard). I love the Mise-en-Scene of this film as well; the blues and purples used in the costumes, the bizarre characater of Elijah (as the villian), and the grey or grey look in the sky that seems to pervade the entire film. I love the scene in the train station when David (Willis) stands in the middle of the station and as the people brush past him, he can sense their sins/evil deeds. I think that these evil deeds that he senses are very realistic for a film that, deals in the unreal or the marvellous (as M. Night Shyamalan says is the first act in a superhero's origin story). All those evil deed are horrific, but realistic and plausible.

10. Casino Royale (2006) - I include this bond film because I believe that it is the best 'film' of all the bond films. The music is very well done (a lot of the bond films have great music), Craig is great as Bond (so was Connery and Brosnan), the action was intense and the worldview was very realistic (no crazy unrealistic gadgets, realistic depiction of terrorism). The romance story line was very well written and developed by the actors and the character development for Bond was never so well written and developed as in this film. It is not just a bond film, but an espionnage film, an action film, and somewhat of a romance-adventure film.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading my top movies lists and I hope that you have seen some of the films or will see some of them in the near future. I would not mind hearing from any of you as to what your favourite movies are.

Take Care.

Fanboy Dave