Here are my top 10 favourite films of I've seen so far in my lifetime, to give an indication of the films I love. Also shows what types/genres of films I have a passion for and are likely to be reviewed on my blog. These films are my favourites and I strongly recommend you check these out if you haven't already had the pleasure of watching any of these films yet.
10. In A Lonely Place (1950) Directed by: Nicholas Ray
One of Humphrey Bogart's lesser known classics and my favourite of his films. This in my opinion is the acting peak of Bogart's career and the most complex character he portrays. Although that said all of his films are worth checking out and also check out Nicholas Ray's other films such as Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Johnny Guitar (1954).
9. Blue Valentine (2010) Directed by: Derek Cianfrance
Ryan Gosling is a great actor and has a bright future ahead and this along with Drive (2011) is his best work. An out of place choice but shows how great a romantic film can be without being overly sentimental i.e the overrated The Notebook (2004). This film displays the best of Ryan Gosling's acting talent alongside a brilliant performance from Michelle Williams.
8. The Usual Suspects (1995) Directed by: Bryan Singer
Kevin Spacey,Gabriel Byrne and Benicio Del Toro stars in this cult crime/thriller. The performance from Spacey is arguably his best and won him an Oscar for best supporting actor. This film is notorious because of its famous plot twist and loved by many and a film I recommend to anyone.
7. Mulholland Drive (2001) Directed by: David Lynch
This is the first of two David Lynch films on my list and one of his most well known films. Mulholland Drive is the film that got me into the weird and wonderful world of David Lynch films. A world full of dreams, desires, mystery and revenge. Although not for everyone, his films demand second views and encourage the viewer to engage their brain to get the most out of these films, which makes watching his films such rewarding and unique experience.
6. Psycho (1960) Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
What can I say about this horror masterpiece that hasn't already been said , just that it's an absolute classic and a must watch. Especially if your a fan of horror.
5th (joint). Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)/ Oldboy (2003) both Directed by: Park Chan-Wook
2 parts of Park Chan- Wook's South Korean vengeance trilogy is what makes up my number 5. Firstly Sympathy for Mr Vengeance the 1st part of the trilogy is a brutal, uncompromising, visually stunning and blackly comic film that has an art film look and feel. This is in contrast to the very stylistic, slick, cool and twisty thriller Oldboy (2003) that showed the style that Park Chan-Wook would employ for future films. Also look out for Park's english language debut Stoker (2013) planned to be released early 2013. I recommend you check out Oldboy (2003) if you haven't saw any foreign films. It's an easy film to get hold of and most popular world cinema titles available to worldwide audience
4. Inception (2010) Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan's multi-layered mystery-thriller shows that you can make a smart and engaging massive summer blockbuster and not just adhere to the norms of big stupid hollywood blockbusters.
Inception was a massive box-office hit and showed the likes of Michael Bay how to make a blockbuster the right way as a smart intelligent,entertaining and engaging film that truly showed how good blockbusters can be.
3. The Third Man Directed by: Carol Reed
Voted the greatest British film in a BFI survey conducted with the likes of Terry Gilliam, Jeremy Irons and Mike Leah having their say, and i tend to agree with their conclusions. This classic british film-noir is full of intrigue, mystery and a show stopping performance from the one and only Orson Welles. This is what gives this film its legendary status and in my eyes is the greatest film-noir and best British film of all-time.
2. Inland Empire (2006) Directed by : David Lynch
David Lynch's Inland Empire is an almost 3 hour trip into the melting nightmare that is the central characters life (played by Laura Dern). The film is cryptic, confusing, weird, frightening and outrageous. But despite all of this I am fascinated by it and have watched it many times. It is Lynch's most crazy film to date and is certainly an acquired taste but if your open to delving into the world of Lynch then you will enjoy it's schizophrenic madness and desire to know what its all about.
1. Memories of Murder (2003) Directed by: Bong Joon-Ho
This Korean crime thriller is about the true story of South Korea's first recorded serial killer and it follows the local cops bumbling attempts at catching the killer. This film mixes black comedy, horror elements, thriller elements with a real emotional kick at the end. This combines to make a moving, funny , disturbing and highly entertaining crime thriller that separates itself from other genre films and makes it my favourite film.
Hope you've liked this list and feel free to suggest films I should have put in and also tell me some of your favourites and also your comments on the films in my list.
Written by Chris. Taylor
Friday 17 August 2012
Wednesday 15 August 2012
Intro
So here I am my First blog post and being a novice at this I've gave myself the easy task of an intro paragraph.
Film and music reviews are something that I've always thought I should try my hand at and with a degree in film I thought should give it go and put my skills to some use. So this brings me to this intro,I shall endeavor to review as many new films as possible and try some music reviewing, this will be more infrequent and experimental. The first film I will review, although very belatedly, is The Dark Knight Rises (2012) by the amazingly talented Christopher Nolan. Hope to be getting it up very soon.
Peace
Chris Taylor
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