9. Her - On a different day,
Her would have ended up on my ballot, and I had to check twice to make sure it wasn't. Squeezing 25 in wasn't easy, so despite this being one of my favourite films it was unfortunate to miss out - however, to use a MoFo cliché, "it didn't need my help". This is one of those films which goes about asking many questions and exploring many avenues in trying to find answers - what makes consciousness? What is love? It also underlines the fact that humanity is becoming more and more disconnected as it connects to a world of our own making. We're infatuated with the virtual worlds we are creating, and we will most surely become infatuated with the A.I. we create in the same manner. Are we, as a species, about to become strangers to human relationships? We're in safe hands here, for this is a Spike Jonze film and he has Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson to act out this near-future love story that's really intelligent but also very accessible. Saw this with a friend and we both loved it - can hardly believe that it wasn't on my ballot, but that's how the cookie crumbles.
Seen 82/92
As is traditional nowadays, many of us start revealing films we had on our list that we know didn't make it. I want to start with my 1-pointer, wondering who else voted for it :
My #25 -
Climax
This Gaspar Noé film could well be classified as horror, and it's an unrelenting and harrowing ride. A dance troupe has their drinks spiked with an hallucinogen, and what follows is a human inferno that rages through the building they're in. We watch on as a few dozen people suddenly lose their minds - this is so well filmed, and a well choreographed hell-ride that meets Noé's typical standards for disturbing an audience. One of the best horror films of the decade, and another addition to his fascinating and grotesque library of devilish motion pictures. Who else voted for this, my 1-pointer? I hope to find out.