HK's 100 Favourites... Kinda

30. Scream



As some of you may know, I have a thing for Miss Barrymore, so I was very pleased this film made such a splash Stateside, as it put her on the cover of the film magazines over here. You have to remember that this was when pics of Drew were rare this side of the Atlantic and before the internet brought me the world. Sadly, as you know, she's not onscreen for long and there's that horrible shot of her hanging from the tree but, despite this, I went on to thoroughly enjoy this film. Since then it's been a firm favourite and, 10 years ago, would've been around the top 10.

29. J.F.K.



Going into this, I had no idea it was any longer than the average film, so it felt like I'd been in the cinema for days by the time it ended. You have to remember that this was back when films lasted about 90-100 minutes and a two hour film was quite unusual. Before every film was two hours, whether it needed to be or not, so an unexpected three hour was like a timewarp. Despite that, I really enjoyed it and I rented it later and the 3 hours flew by. I went and bought myself a copy that very week. With a 3 hours running time, I've probably spent about a couple of days watching this, but each time the film seems to be over long before I expect it.


28. The Way Of The Gun



I was really eager to see this when it was released. Directed by the scriptwriter of The Usual Suspects, it came out with a little buzz but minimal acclaim and I've no idea why, but it just never took off. This film is one of the few that feels like a forgotten gem, even in this internet age. Great cast, great film and my favourite opening scene of any film I've ever seen.


NSFW

27. The Hitcher



One half of the best double bill I ever saw (the other's not too far ahead) I saw this when I was 14/15 and it completely gripped me. Like Flesh + Blood, it stars Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh, along with C. Thomas Howell as the poor unfortunate who disobeys his mum and "Gives this man a ride". If you've not seen this, please don't watch the remake first (or bother with it at all) and, if you have seen the remake but not this, give this a chance to win you over.

26. The Doors



I'd gotten into The Doors about a year before this was released, so I was desperate to see this. I just loved this film and it was my favourite for about 4 or 5 years. I'd read a number of books about The Doors and Jim, so was well aware of the historical inaccuracies, etc, but they didn't bother me in the slightest. Obviously great music and a wonderfully all-encompassing central performance by Val Kilmer make for a completely involving experience.

Oh man, I love Scream and JFK.

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"George, this is a little too much for me. Escaped convicts, fugitive sex... I've got a cockfight to focus on."

No, no. I get the difference between good and favorite. The Friday the 13th series are some of my favorite DVDs to pop in on a quiet night in. That said, I still think you are crazy as a s***-house rat.

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Well, who knows? Had I seen a different doctor on another day, I might not have the certificate that says otherwise.

Ok, why? Be as specific as possible

I don't know if I'd call it a masterpiece, but the relationship between Jeno Reno and Queen Amidala in that film is pretty special. She fills the void of loneliness in his life that he didn't even know existed and he offers her the father figure that she has never had. To have such a sweet and sincere relationship at the core of a very well crafted action film is quite an accomplishment.

Also, the final action piece is amazing.

I made the mistake of going to see The Doors opening weekend and I had taken LSD many times before so it may or may not surprise you to hear that after I sat in the front row for this film and sitting down completely stone cold sober, I walked out of there tripping harder than I had on many occasions of LSD. Why do I share this story? I don't know, it's just my The Doors viewing story and that's all I got. I did and do like the movie quite a bit though.

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We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...

I'm a huge fan of The Way of the Gun. I've seen it countless times. My Benicio obsession probably plays into that a bit, but I do love the movie regardless.

HK, your movie list is great. I'm going to eventually make a top 100 2012 edition but I can tell you what, it's in no way going to be as great as yours. I just realy appreciate that you took the time to list trailers and descriptions with the movies becuase the one's that I havn't seen, I can watch the trailer and really get an idea what the movie is about.

& you listed some favs of mine as well. All the more for the list!!

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HK finally made a favorite list...
I will go through this thoroughly..

Gary Oldman on absoulte fire as Norman Stansfield. Easily his best role in my humble opinion. Such a terrifying villain and a Cop to boot. "Benny bring me Everyone", Benny : "What do you mean Everyone?" Stansfield : "EVERYYYYYYONNNNEEEEEEEEEE".

This strange Hero in Leon, from the opening sequence you would be forgiven for thinking that he is just your usual cold blooded assassin, but then he spends his days going to watch old musicals like Singing in the Rain, being exploited naively by his boss Tony, basically he is a grown up child, a simpleton, yet at the same time he is an absolute pro of an assassin.

Amazing breakthrough role for Natalie Portman, she is like the adult of the relationship with Leon, you genuinely feel for them both at the end despite the fact that its obviously wrong.

As someone already said, what an amazing ending. I have to say that I honestly believe it is the besy ending sequence to a movie that I ve seen yet.

Luc Besson can be hit and miss, some of his films are complete trash like Kiss of the Dragon. Don't know if its the unusual setting of the outskirts of New York or the French perspective of the film but it just clicks for me, ticks all my boxes and can be found right at the very top of my unfinished top 50.

Thanks for all the comments.

Godoggo, I'm so pleased to know there's another fan of "the Gun" out there. Have I been unlucky or do you just not hear about this film?

Not often, it seems. Only one of my friends had heard anything about it before I made them watch it and I think that was only because she was a huge Sarah Silverman fan.

I got Way of the Gun on DVD from years ago, enjoyed it maybe time for a rewatch though.

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25. The Taking Of Pelham One, Two, Three

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I probably caught parts of this film two or three times before I finally saw it all in one go. It's one of those films that'd appear on tv, late at night, and I'd always watch it till the end. I've known and loved this film for a great many years, so I was delighted when people started to talk about this as a 'great' film a few years ago. For the uninitiated, Robert Shaw and Walter Matthau are superb.

I included the second trailer just because I thought it was an interesting comparison.

24. Over The Edge



Just a film I decided to rent one day and totally fell for. As you may've noticed, I love the 70's and this is a great example of 70's cinema. A great film, Matt Dillon's first, and a great soundtrack too.

23. William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet



When I saw this at the cinema, I wanted to stand up and applaud after about 10 minutes. Then when I got it on video, I watched it every day for a month. I love this film but, sadly, it's inextricably tied to a horrible time in my life and I can't watch it as I used to, hence its position. There was a time when this was my 2nd most favourite film in the world.

22. Fever Pitch/The Perfect Catch



TBH I wasn't particularly looking forward to this, besides it being a new Drew film, of course. A remake of a film I wasn't particularly fond of anyway, starring some bloke from SNL (which is rarely a good thing, IMO) so I was going for the Drew. Obviously. However, I was wonderfully surprised. I much prefered this version and the SNL bloke wasn't really annoying and Drew... Wow! She looks so good in this, especially the scene at the Great Gatsby birthday party.


21. The Godfather



I can't remember if I saw The Godfather when I was a kid or not, but I do know that I was 19 when I bought myself a copy. I don't really have much else to say. Like JFK, the 3 hours flies by every time I watch this, it looks absolutely gorgeous and the scene in the restaurant is one of the most tense scenes I've ever experienced. If I felt that kind of tension when watching Hitchcock, I might understand why they call him the "master of suspense."

Sam's worst film holds #72 I love Sam (not Convoy, though)


Hey, where's Across 110th Street! (I know, New York) Must be in the top 20, eh?




There are Patrick Swayze movies on this list :/ ???


oh, my


I thought The Way of the Gun was pretty good - and much underrated. "For the record I'll call myself Mr. Parker. My associate will be Mr. Longbaugh." - one of my all time favorites lines!

The Conversation? In your top 20? (oh, wait, this is your list, not mine - blushes )


The Taking Of Pelham One, Two, Three = awesome film.

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Have you ever held a lion in your arms? I have. He smelled funky.

for The Godfather and The Perfect Catch. I quite like both of those films.

Convoy's the only Sam film I like.

I've only seen it once or twice, so I wouldn't include it as I didn't bother with anything I hadn't seen at least 5 times. TBH, it would't make it anyway. Truck Turner now might and Black Dynamite definately would.

Yeah, but neither of them are Ghost or Dirty Dancing, so it's ok. Red Dawn came close to making it, too.

There are so many great lines from The Way Of The Gun.

Again, I've not seen it enough to even contemplate it, though I wouldn't put include it atm, as I feel differently about it each of the three times I've seen it.

Yep, as you can see from its place on my list, I think so too.

Thanks, TD. I'm sure I'll catch some flak for Fever Pitch/Perfect Catch, so it's nice that the first comment's positive.

Ah at last! Glad you got round to it Hun. Liking loads of your choices so far, I think I even have some of yours on my list too.
Specially liking - Les Diaboliques - brilliant film
The Thing, Se7en, Jean de Florette, The Haunting - that film scared the bejesus out of me when I was a kid - the scene with the rattling door & Claire Bloom in the bedroom . American Werewolf in London, The Killers, All Quiet on the Western Front, Little Women (Beth dies??!), Fear and Loathing, Monsters Inc, Remains of the Day, Double Indemnity, Big Lebowski, Amelie...all fantastic. Great choices!

Loving the list even more. I liked The Way Of The Gun too, but I do think that I was expecting a Usual Suspects 2, which is probably why it didn't take off the way you thought it might have and is obviously an unfair expectation. I think it's one of those forgetten gems like you said that will have a cult following in the next few years.

And falling in a fountain full of broken beer bottles...cringe.

LOVE Scream, and was waiting for when you would include it. It deserves the hype it gets and is one of kind from the 90's.

The original Hitcher is timeless too, some great cinematic moments. It's funny, it's one of Christopher Nolan's favourite films too and I think a lot of Hauer's character was incorporated into the writing of Heath Ledger's The Joker in The Dark Knight. Love the opening scene with the rain and exchanges between C Thomas Howell and Rutger Hauer.

What exactly is it about Romeo and Juliet that you like, HK???