I love movies, they're a big part of my life... But these are my top 10 of all time.
In this post I shall name them, give a brief description and tell you just why I love them.
And in no particular order... Let's begin.
1. The Little Mermaid
What's it about?
It's a Disney adaption of the famous book by Hans Christian Anderson, it tells the story of a curious mermaid princess and her obsession with humans.
Her curiosity with a particular human causes her to fall in love and so she makes a deal with the sea witch so that she may be with him.
Why do I love it?
The film greatly varies from the original book and the two can be considered two completely different things in comparison.
Like most Disney adaptions of famous fairytales, it has been greatly toned down for a family audience, but it's still a great film and the story is superb.
The art direction is still great, even by todays standards and it was one of the first animated films to make use of CG.
It's bright and vibrant and colourful, the characters are extremely lovable and the songs are catchy and you'll find yourself singing them even days after you've watched the film.
Plus, I also remember watching this with my mother... We used to watch this film all the time, it's my best memory of her and every time I watch this film, it feels as if she's still watching it with me.
2. Alien Abduction: The McPherson tape
What's it about?
Also known as Alien Abduction: Incident in lake county to those of you in the USA. This film is one of those "it actually happened" movies, like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity and shot with a hand-held camera.
It starts off with a family who has gathered together to celebrate Thanksgiving when the power goes out.
The three brothers go to investigate the source of the outage and stumble upon some aliens experimenting on cows.
The aliens see them and the brothers run back to the house, from here the family is terrorised in their own home by the visitors as they start picking off the family members one by one.
Why do I love it?
I first saw this when I was 11 years old, I watched it alone and in the dark... I actually believe it was real and it terrified me.
I've never like Aliens/Greys/Zetas or whatever you want to call them, they're creepy little fukcers with there big heads and large, slanted oval eyes. I'm scared to death of them
Even more, I'm scared to death of being "abducted" simply because they force you to forget about the experience.
The idea of going through something so traumatic and scary and not even remembering... That's just wrong.
I feel the family in this film is portrayed quite well and they actually come off as a believable family, the camera work is good and so are the SFX, or what little there is. It plays out a bit like a haunted house movie where there is a group of people that get picked off by the ghost one-by-one until they're all dead/only one survivor... Except this time they're aliens.
It's not scary to me any more, but it's still a good little film made exceptionally well considering its obvious low budget.
3. The War of The Worlds (1953)
What's it about?
A 1953 contemporary re-telling of H.G Wells 1898 book about a Martian invasion in Victorian England.
The film takes place this time in California and it differs quite differently from the book, like The Little Mermaid, the two mediums can be viewed as two different things, but share the same name.
A meteor crash lands and Martian war machines spring forth a couple of days later and the invaders begin systematically wiping out all human life, this happens the world over but we only see things from the point of Dr. Forrester and Ms. Van-Buren.
Eventually the invaders are destroyed, not by man, but by bacteria... They had no immunity to Earths diseases.
Why I love it:
I first saw this when I was 6 with my mum, actually a couple of months before she died and while the film didn't scare me, the idea of other life invading our planet did.
I used to have nightmares about it. This is the film that started me believing in alien life.
For a 1950's B movie, it holds up really well, even by todays standards and I find this version to be vastly superior to Spielbergs 2005 re-make (and all the other re-visionings of the story over the years)
The special effects were well done and still look great, even 58 years on and the film does a good job of capturing the hysteria of humanity during such a crisis.
The film spawned somewhat of a sequel in the 1980's TV series by the same name which I also found quite enjoyable... Especially when you get to see the iconic war machines once more.
This film is a must see top anybody who like sci-fi.
4. Megazone 23 Part I
What's it about?
A teenager, Shogo, from Tokyo Japan in the 1980's finds a motorcycle that is part of a secret government experiment, through further investigation he finds that the world he lives in is false and in reality it's a spaceship designed for colonising the human race while the Earth re-sustains itself, and it's 100 years later.
Another Megazone initiates attack at the two go to war, in the world itself everything starts going to shit as the military starts to take over.
Why do I love it?
Well, aside from being one of the main influences for the Matrix trilogy, this movie is one of those that makes you wonder "what if"?
The animation for it's time is absolutely brilliant and the story is one of the best I've seen in a while.
Megazone 23 part II follows directly on from this and features a rebellion against the oppressive military now has to fight two fronts. the rebellion and the other Megazone.
Megazone 23 part III is ok, but not brilliant, taking place about 100 years later
I first saw this on the Sci-Fi channel, I was about 12 and it was on at about 3am. I originally thought it would be a kids show like Pokemon (because that's what you assumed all anime to be like at that age, this film made me realise that just because its animated, it doesn't mean it's for children) but once I really got into the story, I was hooked.
It's one of the all time anime greats. Sadly though, it is highly unheard of and only those who have seen it know its true brilliance.
Most other people saw this as Robotech: The movie which was basically this film re-cut and interspliced with another project, effectively destroying it... Robotech: The movie was good, but compared to Megazone 23, it's small time.
I recommend anyone who can find it to watch it.
5. Labyrinth
What's it about?
A teenage girl obsessed with fantasy and fairytale (sounds familiar) accidentally gives her baby brother to Jareth, the goblin King, to get him back she has only a handful of hours to conquer the Labyrinth, siege the goblin city and re-claim her brother, or he will remain Jareths forever.
Why do I love it?
This is yet another film I watched as a child, with my mother.
I remember watching it when I was I think either four or five, I'm not quite sure which. I only actually remember that because it was just after Christmas and mum had made me a bacon sandwich... I remember eating more than I could chew and actually choked on the bacon, distinctly remember pulling out a long stringy bit from out of my gullet.
Anyway, the film itself is a wonderful Jim Henson family movie filled with lovable characters (Sir Diddymus rocks!!) a brilliant story, a believable world, a great villain, brilliant songs and so much more.
As the movie goes on you really find yourself rooting for Sarah (the main character, brilliantly played by Jennifer Connelly) as the time winds down and she is only ever making little progress, but it's the support cast that makes this film work, like Hoggle, Sir Diddymus and even Jareth.
I love this film simply because it's something you don't have to think about, just plop it in, sit back and enjoy it.
I cannot wait until I can watch this with my daughter.
6. Alien
What's it about?
An interstellar salvage vessel, the Nostromo picks up a distress signal from an uncharted world (Later revealed to be LV-426 in Aliens) The crew investigate and find a derelict spacecraft which is home to strange dead aliens and a couple hundred eggs.
One of the eggs opens and a strange parasite attaches itself to one of the crew.
Later, the parasite dies and the crew member is ok, but at the dinner table his chest is ripped open by a monstrous creature as it births itself and it soon it begins to meticulously slaughter everyone, one by one
Why do I love it?
One of my favourite types of movie is a traditional haunted house movie... You've got a mean assed ghost, a sprawling mansion and a set of feckless idiots that you know are gonna die... This is what this film, it's a haunted house movie... Replace the ghost with an Alien and the mansion with a huge space ship and bingo. You've got yourself a sci-fi horror flick.
What stands out most is that this film replicates the haunted house film more than you may think, humans who have no clue of how to deal with the attacker, large, empty, shadow filled corridors... And you barely get a look at the attacking beastie until the last minute.
The script writing is also superb, all the characters are believable as is the rather outlandish scenario... Considering we don't know what lurks in the vastness of space, something like this could happen.
The actors give strong performances throughout, the set design is spot on and the atmosphere is creepy.
And the design for the alien (later named the Xenomorph) based on H.R Gigers art work is brilliant because it's so outlandish and absurb... Nobody had even seen a creature like it, it's truly the definition of the word "Alien"
There are also a ton of phallic/rape undertones... The shape of the aliens head, the facehugger, the chestburster, the way it kills off Lambert... And the fact her body was supposedly naked indicated it did the nasty with her.
I'd especially love to see the ending they originally had where the Alien tears off Ripleys head, sits in the cockpit and starts to speak in her voice... Thats fucked up! I love it!
While the film isn't scary any more and considering how tech has advanced it feels slightly outdated, it's still a fantastic film... And there's always a scene that makes me jump.
If you haven't seen it yet... Then you're a bigger loser than I am, and believe me, according to the people I went to school with... I'm a big loser!
Watch it, love it!
7. Grease
What's it about?
When wholesome good girl Sandy and greaser renegade Danny fall in love over the summer, they never expect to see each other again. But when they both discover that they're now attending the same high school, social differences challenge their romance.
Why do I love it?
Who doesn't love this film? Honestly, I think everyone likes this film, whether they admit it or not! No other musical beats this one!
My favourite part of the film is the music, this film has such a brilliant soundtrack. However with a musical film you do find some parts unrealistic when they sing, why would a group of lads sing Summer Nights for example? Yet that aside the songs, mostly corny love songs are addictive and easy to pick up unfortunately will be in your head all day. Grease may not have had a lavish budget like films made today, but this 1978 film directed by Randal Kleiser still manages to have great audience appeal. Its' scenes and costumes are basic and probably didn't break the bank to produce but this all adds to the realism of the film.
I first watched this film when I was like eight with my oldest sister Lillian and from that moment, I was hooked, I love the film and could watch it over and over again.
Newton-John's debut performance is excellent but her character Sandy is too 2D and has no depth. Travolta's performance is to perfection and this film benchmarked his film career.
Danny is 3D, he can be loving, self obsessed, a saviour and a winner, whereas Sandy to me is just a bore. All characters bring something different to the film making it a success.
Rizzo is the hard nosed cow, bitchy about Sandy, possibly jealous, who seeks revenge on her boyfriend by going out with his arch enemy. There is also Marcy who loves the men and has lots of boyfriends, and Frenchy who becomes Sandy's best friend who is caring.
This uplifting, audience grabbing film may be slightly cheesy but there is just so much to love about it, especially the soundtrack and dance moves! This gives it longevity making it such a great film that could be the best musical ever made.
Grease! It's still the word!
8. Paranormal Entity
What's it about?
Paranormal Entity is another one of those hand-held camera movies about a family terrorised by the paranormal (duh) After getting some advice, the family are told to record everything, and they do. From then on, shit just gets worse, especially for the daughter Samantha.
Why do I love it?
Well, considering this is made by Asylum films, a company known for making "Mockbusters" (small budget films made specifically to cash in on a big release) this is the best film they have made to date and the only "knock-off" movie that surpasses the original it's copying Paranormal Activity.
There are several reasons for this.
1. The "haunting" seems far more natural, in Activity it was revealed that the Demon had been after Katie since she was young and eventually it gets and possesses her.
In this, it comes off as more believable because it's just sudden, and the Demon... It's an Incubus. Those things are famous for what they do, you'll have to look it up because I won't spoil the ending.
2. The camera work, this comes off as more natural too, it's not some HD camera, the footage looks like it came from a standard camera that you'd be able to buy any where allowing better believability.
3. The cast. Something about the cast of Activity annoyed me... Well, to tell the truth, the asshole playing the boyfriend annoyed me. He looks and acts like a dick and he even sounds like a dick
The girl who played Katie did a good job, and she's more of a plus sized girl, which is nice to see for a change instead of some super skinny chick who does nothing but piss and moan.
But Entity, the family is believable... Even the Super-hot Erin Marie Hogan who plays Samantha is fantastic, when I first saw her, I though "Wow... Bimbo, I bet she can't act for shit" (Simply based on my experience of low budget films having good looking female leads with zero acting ability)
I was wrong, and I'm glad I was wrong... She did a fantastic job.
4. The script
All in all, it's just more believable, the family are clearly terrified... Not like with the Activity movie where they have that douchebag boyfriend who's still sceptical despite seeing (in a sense) what he's up against.
Yeah, I've talked a lot in depth about this movie... But that's because it was a pure shocker. I put it on expecting trash and what I got was a good, steady horror film.
This film gets on the list because I was pleased with what I witnessed and it's a film I often recommend to friends who haven't seen it. It doesn't get repeated viewings, but it's (in my opinion) a memorable movie that deserves some recognition.
It may not be the best movie ever made, you may not like it if you do watch it, but it's definitely worth watching... If only for the shocker ending (which actually scared me quite a bit)
9. Alice in Wonderland (1951)
What's it about?
A young girl follows a rabbit down a hole and is transported to a land where nothing seems to be what it is, and everything seems to be what it isn't.
In this strange place, Alice meets a variety of characters as she wanders the land and eventually ends up in the court of the Queen of Hearts.
Why do I love it?
Again, I remember watching this with my mother when I was like four... I only remember simply because afterwards there was a bit of time left in the TV schedule slot so they stuck on a couple of Road Runner cartoons to fill the gap.
Strange thing is, I love this film because of what it is, yet I also dislike it... It's extremely dark and depressing and aside from the opening where Alice is singing In a world of my own and at the Mad Hatters tea party, she's not really enjoying herself.
Right from the get-go she's being put through a lot of shit from others... From memory, this is what I recall.
-Her sister scolds her for not listening to the history lesson
-She gets teased by the door knob
-She's forced to run around a fire.
-She gets told the depressing story of the Walrus and the Carpenter by Tweedle-Dum & Tweedle-Dee
-She nearly gets set on fire.
-She's alienated by a bunch of racist flowers.
-She gets told of by the Hatter that she shouldn't sit down uninvited
-When she wants to go home, she cries... The Cheshire cat mocks her.
-The Queen shouts at her
-The Cheshire cat screws her over
-She's sentenced to death
-Finally, she's chased all over Wonderland
That's just what I can remember from the top of my head.
But it is a good film though, the songs are quite catchy, I often find myself singing Painting the roses red and the characters are well rounded. The story I take issue with because it combines both Alice's adventures in Wonderland and Through the looking glass and what Alice found there.
Like most Disney adaptions, this greatly differs from the source material and a lot was left out like the Jabberwock, the Chess game which results with Alice becoming Queen etc.
But it's a good family film, though if you have young children, I'd advise watching it with them as Wonderland does tend to give off a gloomy vibe and characters like the Queen of Hearts can be quite distressing.
Still... It's a bloody good watch and still better the Tim Burtons "Sequel"
10. Indiana Jones and the last crusade
What's it about?
Indiana Jones receives a message from his father from Venice Italy and set about to see what the hubbub is.. It turns out his father has been captured by Nazi's and that they are chasing the fabled Holy Grail.
Indiana Jones must then rescue his father and beat the Germans to the Holy Grail so balance and peace can remain (to a point) throughout the world
Why do I love it?
Erm... Because it's Indiana Jones... Duh.
Indiana Jones, the man, the legend, the whip. Everyone I know has seen at least one of the Indiana Jones movies and usually Raiders of the Lost Ark is their favourite.
Now I loved Raiders of the Lost Ark, I also really loved Temple of Doom even though it gets a lot of hate for it's darkness. But The Last Crusade is my favourite of the original trilogy (I still don't know what to make about the fourth) and the strongest in my opinion. For goodness's sake we have Sean Connery as Indiana's father, how could we get any better than that? I love his way of saying "Junior!", always gets me in a good chuckle.
Harrison Ford still has that same Indy charm that swoons the ladies, the adventure that captivates the guys and takes us on an incredible journey that we'll never forget.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is definitely one of my favourite movies of all time, it's just a flawless movie that will always be timeless.
My daughter and whatever sibling(s) she may have down the line will watch these movies, they're just a lot of fun. Who said archaeology can't be fun? This also has one of the most exciting chase scenes of all time, Indiana is trying to rescue his father and a friend from a Nazi tank and he is on a horse, a brutal fight ensues and was just so exciting to watch.
I've watched this movie since I was a little girl and I still watch it with pleasure today, even with my friends we love watching Indiana and his adventures.
They're an absolute blast and if you haven't seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, please take the first opportunity you have to watch it, it's a great movie.
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