Movies:

There's no point in me offering up the "10 best films of all time" because simply googling (that's right googling not yahooing or binging) that phrase will give you a far more informed list than I could offer. Instead here are 10 films that, good, bad or otherwise, are most definitely worth your time.

1. Pan's Labyrinth - Directed by Guillermo del Torro
In the bleak setting of fascist Spain in 1944, living with a harsh and quite simply evil stepfather who is also an army captain, Ofelia is a young girl who discovers a fantasy world full of hope and adventure. Pan's Labyrinth is both a gritty tale of resistance in war torn Spain and a pure fantasy tale full of strange and memorable characters. It's a film I saw shortly after it's release but the power of the story and it's characters stays with me still. Pan's Labyrinth is not a happy Disney fairytale but don't let that put you off.

2. Videodrome - Directed by David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg is my all time favourite film director because of this film. I am so completely sold on his work that this entry was very nearly for Crash. Ultimately I chose Videodrome for the strong effect it had on me and the importance of the message it carries. Max Renn is a cable-tv producer of the look out for new material who stumbles upon Videodrome, a sadistic game-show that uses real graphic violence and torture. It quickly becomes and obsession for him and as he finds out more about the show he finds himself drawn into a much more dangerous reality than the show could ever depict. Cronenberg uses Videodrome to comment on how technology effects and corrupts people, something he did again in eXistenZ and Crash, in a stylistic and visceral way that needs to be seen. While his later works on the subject are also great Videodrome is the original and, in my opinion, best.

3. Rec - Directors Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza
Remade as Quarantine and ruined. Rec tells the story of a tv crew following a local team of firefighters for the evening, think along the lines of The One Show or similar, who get drawn into a nightmare. Shot on a single handheld camera exactly as you would expect from a small tv outside broadcast unit the crew and the firefighters find themselves quarantined (see what the remake did there?) in an apartment block where strange and terrifying things are happening. It's a great example of horror done properly and is worth seeing if only to keep money out of the hands of the makers of Quarantine which manages to become nonsense despite being re-shot virtually scene by scene.

4. Run Lola Run - Directed by Tom Tykwer
You have 20 minutes to get 100,000 Deutsche Marks to save the life of your boyfriend. What would you do?
Run Lola Run shows what Lola tries 3 times each one showing a bit more of the world around her and how her actions affect the people she comes across. Franka Potente is great as Lola and cuts a unique figure with her bright red hair. Each of the 3 runs has a different outcome for all concerned and the ultimate payoff will bring a smile to your face. If you have never seen a subtitled film Run Lola Run is a great place to start.

5. Hot Fuzz - Directed by Edgar Wright
The second film in the "Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy" from the Wright, (Simon) Pegg and (Nick) Frost creative team surpasses the first by virtue of not having a rom-com sub plot. Now I love Shaun of the Dead so I'm not being critical but I am a bloke and I do enjoy a good buddy movie, action flick. With all the comedic genius of Wright, Pegg and Frost and the bombast of films you might expect from Michael Bay or Jerry Bruckheimer you have to be a very harsh critic not to enjoy Hot Fuzz. Who wouldn't love a cop drama set in a Gloucestershire village?

6. The Crow - Directed by Alex Proyas
This gothic cult classic would not be anywhere near as important if not for the tragedy that befell the movie during filming. Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee and a rising star at the time, died as the result of an accidental shooting on set. The fact this would be his last film makes the tragic tale of lovers separated by violence all the more poignant. While it suffers slightly from being a bit dated these days the style and direction is still as solid as ever. If you haven't seen The Crow or you don't know the story behind it then you really should go and buy the dvd watch both the film and the extras which include Brandon Lee's last interview before his death.

7. Resident Evil: Degeneration - Directed by Makoto Kamiya
The Resident Evil series of games brought survival horror to the masses like no games before them. To that end a whole generation of gamers were excited to hear a live action film was being made and then disappointed when it turned out shite. Degeneration goes some way to put that right by sticking to the cannon of the games and by bringing back two of the game's better known characters Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield. Set 7 years after the events of the second game, a year after we last saw Leon in Resident Evil 4, the two protagonists find themselves caught in the midst of yet another outbreak. If you haven't played the games and are currently bored and or confused don't worry, Resident Evil: Degeneration stands alone as a great zombie flick.

8. Sunset Boulevard - Directed by Billy Wilder
This one is a classic. It's a black and white 1950 film noir. It's often cited as one of the most noteworthy films of American cinema. Deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the U.S. Library of Congress in 1989, Sunset Boulevard was included in the first group of films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. What's more is it tells a compelling tale of a failed screen writer drawn into the fantasy world of a fading star as she plans her grand comeback. As with all films of this caliber you owe it to yourself to make time for it, dim the lights, open a bottle of wine and let the twisted glamour of 1950 wash over you.

9. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 - Directed by Joe Berlinger
The Blair Witch Project was an instant horror classic. It's low budget shaky footage created a myth so believable, thanks to a great publicity campaign, many people actually believed. Working within the universe the first film created and treating it as real Book of Shadows is the fictional movie based on the real events of the fictional events in the first film. Get it? No? Don't worry. Book of Shadows is a cheap and dirty, no brain-er of a cash in that doesn't deserve to be held in the same light as the original but it is a decent and creepy horror worth a look.

10. Battle Royale Directors Cut - Directed by Finji Fukasaku
"At the dawn of the millennium, the nation collapsed. At fifteen percent unemployment, ten million were out of work. 800,000 students boycotted school. The adults lost confidence and, fearing the youth, eventually passed the Millennium Educational Reform Act, AKA the BR Act...."
A class of school children are transported to an island, fitted with explosive collars and given random weapons. The idea is that they fight to the death until only one remains. Battle Royale depicts the panic, terror, sadistic pleasure and desperation that ensues. The directors cut includes extra footage that I believe helps make some of the supporting characters more human and as such should be the version you watch. It's a great film that you will spend the weeks after viewing asking yourself, "what would I do?"

Cheers,
R.