TOP FIVE FAVOURITE FILMS

A couple of months ago I posted my top five favourite books, so I decided that I should compile a list of my favourite films. This list was very difficult for me to compile and has been months in the making - as I limited myself to my top five films, this list doesn't even begin to cover all of the films that I love. I tried to keep it quite diverse and include different genres of films and different franchises. However, if anyone would like me to make another top films list, I would be more than happy to oblige. 

5) ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)

If you've read my top five favourite books post, you'll know that I included the novel which the film is based on in my list. While the film adaptation isn't always accurate to its source material, it is still just as poignant and thought provoking. Despite its various differences to the novel, the film has the same essence as the book, and this is mostly because Jack Nicholson's portrayal of McMurphy is astonishingly accurate to the character in the book. The rest of the cast perform very well and bring the characters to life wonderfully - while not all of them look how I imagined the characters to appear, they certainly capture their personalities well. One little complaint that I do have about the film is that Chief is sidelined somewhat, as his role as the narrator in the novel is scrapped in the adaptation - however, this is only a very minor issue that I have with the film.

4) FIGHT CLUB (1999)

"The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club" ... I'm afraid that I'm going to be a bit rebellious and break this rule. Fight Club chronicles the tale of a depressed young man known only as 'The Narrator' (Edward Norton) who dislikes his job and turns his attention to buying furniture from Ikea. While on a business-class flight, he meets the charming soap salesman Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), and together the two of them create an underground Fight Club. Despite its age, Fight Club is still hugely relevant to the twenty first century, as it tackles some pretty hefty political themes. At times it is thought-provoking, at others hilarious, but for its entirety Fight Club is a very watchable and entertaining film.

3) THE LORD OF THE RINGS - THE TWO TOWERS (2002)

I've been a fan of The Lord of the Rings since I was about seven years old - granted, I didn't understand the films as well back then, but the fact that the trilogy has stayed a favourite for such a long time is really a testament to its legacy. The reason that I've picked The Two Towers as my favourite of the trilogy (all though admittedly it is a close call between the first two films) is because the sense of danger is amped up. The battle sequences are more frequent and visually stunning, especially considering that the film was released over ten years ago. Even more impressive than the battle scene CGI is the motion capture work to create Gollum - even now the special effects used to create the character do not cease to amaze me.

2) SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK (2012)

Silver Linings Playbook was really an impulse buy for me, as I didn't really know what it was about but I'd heard that it was supposed to be well reviewed when I bought it on DVD. Prior to this film, I'd never seen a David O. Russell film, and I had only seen the film's leads - Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence - in The Hangover and The Hunger Games respectively. As it turns out, the film was far better than I had imagined; the plot is surprisingly refreshing, as it follows Pat Solatano (Cooper) as he tries to regain his house, his job, and his wife, Nikki, after spending eight months in a psychiatric institution. When he meets the troubled Tiffany (Lawrence), she offers him a way to rekindle his relationship with Nikki - but only if he'll do something in return for her.

1) THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)

As you may or may not have guessed by now, I am a massive fan of Christopher Nolan's films. The Dark Knight was the first Nolan film that I ever watched. I'll be honest, I was doubtful that I would like it at first. However, I was soon proved wrong and was blown away by almost every aspect of the film - the plot of the film is absolutely superb, and is more akin to a gritty crime thriller than a comic book adaptation. The film follows Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) as he forges an alliance with District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) in an effort to finally rid the streets of Gotham from organised crime and a maniacal criminal called The Joker (Heath Ledger). While I agree that the portrayal of The Joker is outstanding, I feel that the rest of the cast are somewhat under appreciated. The acting in this film - including Heath Ledger's now iconic portrayal of Batman's nemesis - is sublime all round. 

So, all in all, a pretty long film post - if you've managed to make it to the end, I applaud you. This will probably be my last post in 2013 - in case I don't get round to making a separate post, I wish you all a happy new year.