Ten Movies That I Enjoy
For a Few Dollars More (1965), directed by Sergio Leone
Western
Honestly, I could've filled out half of this list with movies by Sergio Leone, but for the sake of redundancy, I won't. Leone is a master of his craft, changing the western genre forever with his unique style filled with wicked long shots and intimate closeups, not to mention the score provided by Ennio Morricone, which is as smooth as ever, especially in For a Few Dollars More where the music integrates seamlessly with the clocks in the last shootout. Also, Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef are at the top of their game delivering wicked smooth performances.
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Yojimbo (1961), directed by Akira Kurosawa
Samurai Cinema/ Chambara
Remember when I said I could've filled half of this list with just Sergio Leone's movies? This addition is my answer to that dilemma. Yojimbo is the film that "inspired" Leone's first western, even though it could be said that Leone flat out stole it, but I digress. Yojimbo is a movie that focuses on a wandering samurai who gets involved in a gang war. What I love about this one is that, even though it's such an old and well respected movie, it has that classic grindhouse feel to it. Where the hero is slicing through people left and right without hesitation and when he does help people, he has to insult them a few times first. The way the movie is shot is also fantastic, every fight looks like it could be from a classic Japanese painting. Did I mention that this movie is funny too? That's the underrated aspect of Kurosawa's movies, nobody talks about the humour, even when there are plenty of laughs to be had.
The Iron Giant (1999), directed by Brad Bird
Family
This one is here because of my childhood, I used to love this one, still do. It's legitimately the only movie I can still watch that'll make me cry. Enough said.
Braindead (1992), directed by Peter Jackson
Horror Comedy
This movie is not only just a lot of fun, but it always inspires me because it shows humble beginnings. The realisation that the same guy who made this movie where a priest shouts "I kick ass for the lord" before launching himself at a group of zombies is the same person who directed Lord of The Rings, one of the most prestigious series of films of all time always makes me happy. This movie is a legitimate riot to watch, there's so much dumb stuff going on all the time, and I love every second of it.
In Bruges (2008), directed by Martin McDonagh
Thriller/ Black Comedy
This is a modern day black comedy masterpiece. It has some of the best writing I've ever seen in a movie, displaying all of the shenanigans that would occor being a suicidal hitman. It's a joy to watch, it can intantly go from being the saddest movie I've ever seen to the funniest and it always feels earned.
The Favourite (2018), directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Historical Drama
By far the best movie I saw last year (even if that isn't saying much because I didn't see many movies last year). Yorgos Lanthimos is a fantastic, relatively new director, I've gotta be keeping my eye out for anything else he puts out. He's got a fantastic sense of humour that focuses on the situations that characters are put in rather than writing jokes. Because of this, The Favourite is a genuinely hilarious movie, just because of the situations characters are put in because of the era they live. It does this without detracting from the serious aspects of the historical drama, and it makes for an extremely entertaining and interesting look at the three main characters.
Crank: High Voltage (2009), directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor
Action
The crank movies are dumb. They know their dumb and they've got nothing to prove, that's why I love them. There's no real meaaning to them, it's just the directors going out of their way to make a movie that'll entertain. Both movies are pretty much non-stop action for an hour and a half and there really isn't much more to it, they don't waste time with "characters" and "story", they just jump right into the completely absurd action. This is taken even futher in the second installment Crank: High Voltage, which is completely action packed. Sometimes I just like to sit down with my friends and watch something that doesn't require any thought, this is a masterpiece in the "movies that don't require any thought" genre.
Kung Fu Hustle (2004), directed by Stephen Chow
Kung Fu
I watched this movie so many times when I was younger, it's a martial arts action comedy and it definately delivers on all of those genres. Even though a lot of this movie is comedy, it has some great action scenes and it genuinely has a lot of heart.
Cowboy Bebop (1998), directed by Shinchiro Watanabe
SciFi
This is the perfect TV show. What could be better than watching space cowboys running around under the smooth layer of old-school noir aesthetic. What makes Cowboy Bebop special to me is the sheer amount of characters we get to see over the run of the show. Most episodes focus on the life of a complet stranger rather than one of the main cast. Whether it's a space-trucker, a space-gangster or a space-chessplayer, there's always somebody new to meet, the world of Cowboy Bebop feels truly lived in. That being said, still get to see a lot of the main cast, along with all of the beautiful themes they bring with them, these themes are of boredom and melancholy. Even though the crew of The Bebop are bounty hunters living on a spaceship, they still have to struggle to make a living, most of the time they can't even afford to buy food. They sit around, not knowing what to do with their time, arguing why they still call it beef stew when they can't even afford to buy the beef to put in it. Even though it's a sci-fi show with space battles and all sorts of crazy future stuff going on, it has themes that we can all relate to. This, combined with the clear stylistic influences of Sergio Leone and Akira Kurosawa is what makes Cowboy Bebop so great. Also, it's got the best jazz music.
The Thing (1982), directed by John Carpenter
Horror
Come to think of it, this movie has some kind of similar themes to Cowboy Bebop, with characters isolated, not knowing what to do with their time, getting frustrated at chess machines, but that's kind of irrelevant. Anyway, The Thing is a good movie. It has some great mystery as to who or what the thing is, it has some of the best practical effects I've ever seen and it's got some great characters. The soundtrack is even composed by Ennio Morricone, who I've already mentioned (even though it just sounds like a normal John Carpenter score and there isn't much of that classic Morricone flare). The Thing gives of a great sense of isolation and it legitimately one of the best horror movies of all time.
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