My Top 10 Movie List

As part of my 101 goals I said I would list my top 10 movies and see if they changed in the next year as I watch different ones. I apologise for not being able to find decent quality trailers for all of them, but here they are anyway, (in no particular order) my top 10 favourite films (it was sooooo hard to choose just 10 btw!!!)

Groundhog Day -

This is pretty much a perfect movie, it's touching, it's funny, it has Bill Murray in it, I mean, it's just awesome. Andi McDowell - because of this, I can forgive her for wrecking pretty much every scene of Four Weddings and a Funeral that she was in, she's just that good! : ) It's such a simple premise, but it's done so well - a grumpy, selfish, weatherman is forced to live the same day over and over again - see, simple right? But what is done with this story is beautiful and I love it!

*(one of my) favourite quotes* -
Rita: Are you drunk or something?
Phil: Drunk is more fun.




Annie Hall -

A wonderful Woody Allen movie that is a realistic and beautiful love story. It's romantic, intelligent, witty, and Diane Keaton is just sublime. I really don't know what to say except watch it, and then tell everyone how brilliant it is.

*Favourite scene* - There are so many... This is the one that really made me fall in love with Diane Keaton though.






Edward Scissorhands -

I know I'm choosing movies that probably everyone has seen but this is just a really beautiful film, plus I had to put a Johnny Depp film in the list. I cry every time at this film (not that that should necessarily be an indicator, I cry at everything! : ) and it's almost like a silent movie in places. Johnny Depp is such an incredible actor, I mean yeah he can do the over the top Captain Jack Sparrow stuff, the kooky Willy Wonka stuff, even the gruff singing stuff in Sweeney Todd, but in this, he barely speaks throughout the whole movie and yet you fall in love with him. His eyes are so expressive, he's so vulnerable and separate from everyone else, I just love this film. You know they wanted Tom freakin' Cruise to do this film instead of the Deppmeister? How awful would that have been? Thankfully everyone involved came to their senses and with Tim Burton's direction and the surburbia sets juxtaposed with the gothic mansion of the inventor... I mean, this movie is just insanely beautiful - pure fairytale. Unfortunately I can't find a trailer that doesn't wreck the best moments of the film, so you'll just have to see it and thank me later : )

*Favourite scene* - All of it. It's just beautiful.

Cyrano De Bergerac -

Most people have probably seen Roxanne, with Steve Martin (based on this) but not this version with Gerard Depardieu. I admit, I pretty much love the Gerard Depardieu,  I mean, his accent is so dreamy (as C says, he speaks French very well : ) but his acting is also so effortless. This is again, a moving love story, so sue me, I enjoy them, but it is also a chance to see French cinema at a pretty high level (I wouldn't go quite as far as "at it's best") It's a story of unrequited love and truly selfless love, and I have loved it ever since I saw it in high school French class!

*Favourite quote* - All of Cyrano's poetry - simply sublime!

Singin' in the rain -

I really wanted to pick a musical for one of my choices (cos I love 'em) but couldn't decide between this and Moulin Rouge. I know a lot of people (C included) would disagree that Singin' is the better movie, and maybe it's not, but it has a nostalgia for me that I just cannot get away from. To me, this film represents me lying on the sofa when ill and with my blanket and teddies watching this to cheer myself up. Don't get me wrong, you can watch this film when healthy too : ) Apart from the, quite frankly, completely unnecessary Broadway Musical bit near the end, the film is near perfect, and Gene Kelly makes tap dancing look macho, I mean come on!  Do you need another reason to watch it? Ok, the dance routines are perfect, the songs are great, the story's fantastic, the acting's pretty good : ) and the ending is lovely. I think it's a film everyone should see at least once!

*Trivia* - The actress playing Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), who gets her voice dubbed in the film by Debbie Reynold's character actually dubbed Debbie Reynold's voice for those scenes of the movie! How weird is that?! Or is it ironic??



Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (and Raiders, and Temple of Doom)

With limited space on my list, I had to choose just one Indy film, and my personal favourite is The Last Crusade - James Bond and Indiana Jones in the same movie! What I love most about Indy is that he's not smooth, I mean, he's a charmer and very good looking, but he's not great at being an adventurer. He falls off things, he's scared of snakes, he makes mistakes, gets hit and captured (a lot) and underneath the rugged leather jacket and fedora, he's really just a goofy, glasses wearing, intelligent archeologist professor. So the juxtaposition of Indy with his smoother dad who he really just wants to impress makes this film my favourite of the trilogy. Plus it's a great story, and the Nazis lose! (Sorry to spoil the ending!) It's a really lovely film and is great fun to watch : )

*Favourite quote* - "Our situation has not improved..." : )




The Lives of Others -

This is a truly perfect film. It's about the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police and the Stasi officer who is responsible for bugging and recording the actions of a playwright and his girlfriend. The true reasons of the secret police for following their actions are soon revealed and as the ideas of the Stasi officer recording them change, the film builds to a beautiful and very exciting climax. There's not really much I can say about this film, except it is brave in what it reveals about the secret police of the time, and it is exceptionally well written and acted. Moreover this film made me think. The idea that this happened, that the secret police did exist and were responsible for so many deaths... it's mind blowing. It's an emotionally powerful film and again, just beautiful.

*Favourite quote* - not from the film itself, but from the director - "More than anything else, The Lives of Others is a human drama about the ability of human beings to do the right thing, no matter how far they have gone down the wrong path."



Peter's Friends -

A film about 6 friends from university and their partners coming together for a New Year's Eve party - once again, a pretty simple idea, with lots of complications. One of the reasons I love this film is because of the brill British actors in it - including Stephen Fry (national treasure), Hugh Laurie (he of bumbling Bertie Wooster and emotionally complicated House fame), Emma Thompson (she being one of the very few people ever to win writing and actress Oscars), Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake and Harry Potter movies) and Kenneth Branagh, who also wrote and directed the film. I have to admit to being biased, I love all the actors I've just mentioned and esp. Kenneth Branagh. I would watch pretty much anything with him in it anyway, but he isn't the best thing in this : O The scenes between Hugh Laurie and Imelda Staunton as they work to overcome the death of their young son are very moving, and Emma Thompson's "fill me with your little babies" is wickedly funny. However, I do think that Kenneth Branagh's direction makes this film what it is; his very long shots - esp when they all meet again - are done to perfection and the montage of them around the dinner table is really great too. The soundtrack is great - lots of Tears for Fears mixed with some Springsteen (can't go wrong with The Boss!) and best of all, it's very British!

*Favourite scene* - round the piano! Hugh Laurie's musical talents shine through and everyone is just so wonderful in this scene.




It's A Wonderful Life -

I'd never seen this before I met C and the first time we saw this together was our first Christmas at the wonderful Filmhouse cinema in Edinburgh. I'm fast running out of adjectives to describe these films but I think heartwarming is the one for this film. It follows the life of George Bailey, a lovely quintessentially American (can you be quintessentially American or just British?) man who is pushed into becoming the head of the bank his father ran and after an accident caused by his deputy wishes he had never been born. It is a beautiful film, makes me cry twice (in exactly the same places), has the wonderful James Stewart in it, is shown every Christmas at our cinema (guess where we'll be in a few months time : ) and I look forward to seeing it with C every year.

*Favourite quote* - 
Young Mary: George Bailey, I'll love you till the day I die




Some Like It Hot -

I was really torn between this and any Cary Grant film I've ever seen, but I have to be fair and choose this. It's awesome! I've seen it many many times, and every time I fall a little bit more in love with Jack Lemmon's performance - it's so effortlessly perfect! Marylin Monroe is also just wonderful, so vulnerable, and sweet, yet clearly a bit damaged and worldly (see "I'm through with love") Tony Curtis plays both the Cary Grant role, "Nobody talks like that!" and the tom cat musician wonderfully and I just can't recommend this film enough. In fact, don't just watch this - watch this, then watch The Apartment and The Odd Couple to see what a fabulous director Billy Wilder is and what an amazing actor Jack Lemmon is! I don't really want to give you a clip of my favourite scene (maracas!) in case that ruins any of the brilliance of it, so just so you have something to compare Tony Curtis' impression of Cary Grant to, here's a clip of him in Bringing Up Baby.



Alright, this isn't my absolute favourite scene of the movie, but it does show the three of them fabulously - (plus I couldn't find a trailer that didn't ruin the ending, but felt I had to post something, so...)




One film that very narrowly missed out on my list was Back to the Future (and the rest of the trilogy!) : )
This shows Michael J Fox arguably at his best (apart from Spin City of course!) He's a brilliant comic actor and these films just prove it. Add to that the fact that they are hugely enjoyable and likeable and you can't go wrong! The idea of getting in a delorian and accidentally going back in time to when your parents were in high school, making your mum fall in love with you and having to make your parents fall in love with eachother while trying to get back to the future and save a highly eccentric scientist is pretty great for a comedy sci-fi movie! Everyone in all of these films are perfectly cast and I love every second of them, I could watch them over and over. (Cheers C for getting them on DVD for me!) Plus, it's the anniversary of the films at the moment (which is why I thought I'd slip it on to the list anyway) so if Back to The Future is at a cinema near you, head to it right away, I know we will!

*Trivia* - MJF had to make this film on night shoots while still filming Family Ties because he couldn't get time off to make it - that's dedication!

Instead of giving you a clip from the films, I'm gonna share this - a stand up comedy song from the guy who plays Biff - so funny!



and also a gratuitous clip of MJF in Scrubs to show (in case you didn't already know) just what a brilliant actor he is - (from just under 2 mins in!)




It'll be interesting to see if any of the films I see this year sneak in to my top ten by the end of it. I'm already thinking about Mon Oncle... Hmmmmmm.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your comments on my choices and suggestions for great films I should see,
Peace, love and happy movie watching, : )
C

P.S - Dinner tonight is chilli - another untried recipe, this time from How It All Vegan (review to be posted later : )