Friday 29 October 2010

The List Hero's Top 5 of 2010 (so far)

5.  Cemetry Junction
In three words:  Quality, not groundbreaking.















4.  Shrek: The Final Chapter
In three words:  Nicely tied up.














3.  Inception
In three words:  Mind bending sci-fi.















2.  Toy Story 3
In three words:  Superb animated finale
















1.  Shutter Island
In three words:  Mysterious psychological thriller

The Golden Tippy (2000-2009)

The Golden Tippy is awarded for achievement in a feature-length comedy film.  That sounds posh doesn't it?  Basically, films I found funny.  The award is named after my hilariously stupid cat, Tippy.

2009
Funny People














Runners up: 
It's Complicated
-  Up
-  Sherlock Holmes
-  The Princess & The Frog



2008
Burn After Reading














Runners Up:
-  WALL-E
-  Bedtime Stories
-  Ghost Town
-  Bolt



2007
Hot Fuzz
















Runners Up:
-  Son of Rambo
-  Surf's Up
-  Stardust
-  Run Fatboy Run



2006
Little Miss Sunshine













Runners Up:
-  Borat
-  Night at the Museum
-  Stranger Than Fiction
-  Cars



2005
Thank You For Smoking












Runners Up:
-  League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse
-  Wedding Crashers
-  40 Year Old Virgin
-  Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit



2004
Sideways














Runners Up:
-  Meet The Fockers
-  Shrek 2
-  Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
-  The Incredibles



2003
School of Rock












Runners Up:
-  Big Fish
-  Finding Nemo
-  Elf
-  Calender Girls



2002
Catch Me If You Can














Runners Up:
-  About Schmidt
-  Boat Trip
-  Ice Age
-  My Big Fat Greek Wedding



2001
Shallow Hal














Runners Up:
-  The Closet
-  Monsters Inc
-  American Pie 2
-  Shrek



2000
Me, Myself & Irene














Runners Up:
-  Meet The Parents
-  Snatch
-  High Fidelity
-  Chicken Run

Thursday 28 October 2010

The List Hero's Favourite Brad Pitt Movies

Having just re-watched Fight Club, I decided to make a list dedicated to Bradley Pitts.  I opted not to include True Romance as Mr Jolie's part is, although extremely brilliant, very small.  The list is in reverse order so that the you can allow the tension to build as you discover the top film...

10.  Kalifornia  (1993)















Here, Pitt is at his psychotic best alongside fellow nutcase Juliette Lewis as they take a road trip with the much more sane David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes.


9.  Interview With The Vampire  (1994)













My mum's favourite film stars Pitt, Tom Cruise and an unsuspecting Kirsten Dunst as vampires who live through hundreds of years, sucking the necks of the innocent.


8.  Thelma & Louise  (1991)














Considered to be Pitt's big break, he plays a parolee thief.  Ladies should keep an eye out for his love scene with Geena Davis, it's what propelled him into a sex symbol.


7.  Sleepers  (1996)














Not a particularly cheery one.  In Sleepers Pitt plays grown-up Mike who, as a child, was abused by guards in a youth detention centre.  Now him and his former friends are out for revenge.


6.  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button  (2008)













Benjamin Button... the boy who was born as an old man and gradually became a baby.  Something we can all relate to.


5.  Fight Club  (1999)













"The first rule of Fight club is... you do not talk about Fight Club!"

In this controversial movie, Pitt plays Tyler Durden who, alongside Edward Norton, starts up an underground fighting club.  Fight Club was starved of awards (mainly due to the controversial nature of the movie) but is a must-see for any film fan.  Also, Helena Bonham Carter's cleavage is always welcome on my TV screen.


4.  Burn After Reading  (2008)













This film is a superbly made comedy with a brilliant cast, and Pitt's performance is excellent.


3.  Inglourious Basterds  (2009)













In Tarantino's war masterpiece, Pitt plays Aldo Raine - the leader of the "Basterds" (a group of Jewish soldiers intent on taking revenge on the Nazis).


2.  Snatch  (2000)















In Guy Ritchie's finest piece, Pitt stars as an Irish boxing gypsy.  Dya like dags?


1.  Seven  (1996)













Well here it is.  A tough choice really but, in my opinion, Seven is Mr Pitt's best film.  A brilliant cast (Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey), a gripping storyline, a phenomenal twist, and all pieced together by one of the best modern day directors (David Fincher)... what more could you want?

Tuesday 26 October 2010

Five films on my "to-watch" list

1.  Rocket Science (2007)

After watching The Squid & The Whale, I was recommended this.  I read the synopsis and it sounds great, looking forward to viewing this one.















2.  Che (2008)

I've become much more interested in Che Guevarra since experiencing The Motorcycle Diaries and have been told, by a reliable source, that this two-part film is brilliant.














3.  The Social Network  (2010)

David Fincher rarely gets it wrong and this has been getting rave reviews all over the place.  Worth a trip to the cinema me thinks.














4.  A Few Good Men (1992)

Can't believe I still haven't seen this.  My dad regularly quotes it.















5.  Into The Wild  (2007)

I've been recommended Sean Penn's directorial debut by various sources.

The List Hero's Best Films of 2009

1.  Quentin Tarantino's war epic, Inglourious Basterds.

In three words:  War revenge masterpiece
















2.  James Cameron's money spinner, Avatar.

In three words:  Beautiful meaningful epic
















3.  Disney Pixar's emotional Oscar winner, Up

In three words:  Instant animated classic














4.  French prison drama, A Prophet

In three words:  Tense racial violence 















5.  Bafta winner, Fish Tank.

In three words:  Beautiful, real, watchable.


















6.  Multi-award winner, The Hurt Locker.

In three words:  Constantly feels tense















7.  Judd Apatow's comedy, Funny People.

In three words:  Funny, emotional, well-made
















8.  Ken Loach's very touching yet funny, Looking For Eric.

In three words:  Life gets tough














9.  Another strong Brit flick, An Education.

In three words:  Don't be fooled





10.  Disney's charmer, The Princess & The Frog.

In three words:  Return to roots