Top Ten Films I Have Watched

Here’s a list of my top ten films. They’ve changed a bit over the years, but not a lot. You can see the full list of films I’ve watched here.

Aliens

I think to be honest – this image says it all. This probably came at just the right time for me. I’d watched Alien when I was younger – probably a bit too young, but there you go. And Aliens is one of the few sequels which manages to be as good as or better than the first. It took H.R. Giger’s concept and made it into it’s own thing.

It’s said that to have a story, you need context, characters, jeopardy and an ending. The last three Aliens has in abundance, but it very cleverly uses “Alien” to build on the context and expand the ecosystem. Is it perfect? Well, no, in retrospect, the marines do see a bit sloppy and at the first sign of any alien lifeform, you’d expect feedback to HQ… but who can beat “Let’s ROCK”! Or the classic, “Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man”, “No. Have you”. Script writing genius.

Cashback

I found Cashback randomly in a load of CD’s I bought from someone. It’s best described as a “Hidden Gem”. It’s one of those films which, if you’d merely ready the synopsis you’d never watch. A film about a supermarket…? No thanks.

But Sean Ellis takes the human condition and brings it to life with some beautiful scenes and a deep understanding of people. The closing track has remained one of my favourites to this day.

Oldboy

I found Cashback randomly in a load of CD’s I bought from someone. It’s best described as a “Hidden Gem”. It’s one of those films which, if you’d merely ready the synopsis you’d never watch. A film about a supermarket…? No thanks. But Sean Ellis takes the human condition and brings it to life with some beautiful scenes and a deep understanding of people. The closing track has remained one of my favourites to this day.

The Dark Knight

I found Cashback randomly in a load of CD’s I bought from someone. It’s best described as a “Hidden Gem”. It’s one of those films which, if you’d merely ready the synopsis you’d never watch. A film about a supermarket…? No thanks. But Sean Ellis takes the human condition and brings it to life with some beautiful scenes and a deep understanding of people. The closing track has remained one of my favourites to this day.

Inception

What screenshot to use for Inception? It spans so many ideas and places and in that way, it’s certainly unique. It’s a Christoper Nolan film and is beautifully shot with a soundtrack by the legendary Hanz Zimmer.

Limitless

I found Cashback randomly in a load of CD’s I bought from someone. It’s best described as a “Hidden Gem”. It’s one of those films which, if you’d merely ready the synopsis you’d never watch. A film about a supermarket…? No thanks. But Sean Ellis takes the human condition and brings it to life with some beautiful scenes and a deep understanding of people. The closing track has remained one of my favourites to this day.

The Prestige

I found Cashback randomly in a load of CD’s I bought from someone. It’s best described as a “Hidden Gem”. It’s one of those films which, if you’d merely ready the synopsis you’d never watch. A film about a supermarket…? No thanks. But Sean Ellis takes the human condition and brings it to life with some beautiful scenes and a deep understanding of people. The closing track has remained one of my favourites to this day.

The Road

This is the saddest film I have ever seen. A journey through one man’s terror at the end of the world and the hope he has for his son’s future. At times pretty gross and at others funny; you’ll be locked to the screen watching this as the story unfolds. And don’t expect any answers about just “what happened”; you’ll not get any. Accept that this is the situation and move from it. Interestingly, Viggo Mortensen also plays the self-sufficient father in Captain Fantastic. Avoid watching the trailer – it cannot and does not show emotion in this film.

Starship Troopers

A throwback to my University days – this film although cheesy has some interesting political notions about the outcomes of war and why society holds it as a necessary evil.

It’s also got some great scenes, monsters and action – all of which have aged pretty good. I would absolutely say this is a blokey film, but sometimes it’s just what you need to kick back and relax.

It was described as an anti-war, war film.

Into The Wild

Where to start with this film? Okay let’s start with the fact that I am not a fan in any way of “Sean Penn” – I’ve never seen anything in I liked, and his personal life has always seemed a little media-orientated.

This film however sits diametrically opposed to that bias. It’s beautifully produced, acted and polished. I didn’t realise it was a true story and each player adds a little magic to that story. I’ll not spoil it for you – but it’s proof that you don’t need expensive CGI to make a film that will stay with you forever. And yes, the soundtrack is mainly Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder – “Hard Sun”, mind blown.