After watching quite a few movies in the last few weeks and being only moderately impressed with them, it got me thinking about movies I’ve seen over the years that I have really liked. So this is a quick stab at a list of my favorite movies. I have to preface this by saying that I have a shocking memory, so there may be some great moviesI’ve seen that I’ve just forgotten about, and the list is probably going to be biased to those I’ve seen in the fairly recent past, but anyhow, here’s what comes to mind…
In no particular order -
Once Were Warriors
Probably the best NZ movie I’ve ever seen, and up there with the very best of all-comers. A story of family disfunction and violence in NZ. Not an entertaining movie, but definitely high impact. A must see.
Heavenly Creatures
Oh I’ve already gone and suggested that OWW is the best NZ movie I’ve seen, but this surely also deserves such an accolade. The true story of two NZ girls who murder the mother of one of them. Set in Christchurch the 50′s and directed brilliantly by Peter Jackson. This was the first big break for Kate Winslet, although I actually thought that Melanie Lynsky did the better acting job of the two.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
A kind of depressing story about a young man (Johnny Depp) dealing with his very mundane life in a small town, his super-obese mother and intellectually-handicapped brother. I think one reason I remember this movie is that it was the first time I went to a theater to watch a movie on my own – I guess something of a landmark in my experience of being single. The tone of much of the movie probably matched my own melancholic frame of mind at the time. Although the movie is very good all round, it’s especially worth watching for the stunning job that Leonardo DiCaprio does of playing Johnny Depp’s younger brother.
K-PAX
I think this was the movie that made me such a big Kevin Spacey fan. I really love great acting, and in this movie Spacey is fantastic. It’s the story of a guy who claims to be from outer space, and it’s actually pretty hard to tell whether he’s a nutcase or really an alien. What makes Spacey’s work all the more impressive here is that he effectively plays two different characters, one the supposed alien, Prot, who claims to be from the planet K-PAX and the other quite different personality that emerges when he is under hypnosis in a mental hospital. The fact that Spacey nails both personas so brilliantly is testimony to the man’s talent.
The Shipping News
And this is the other movie that convinced me of what a great talent Kevin Spacey is. The story of a guy struggling with insecurities who along with his daughter and aunt makes a new life for himself in Newfoundland after his wife dies. Really interesting characters and wonderfully bleak scenery.
Dial M for Murder
Alfred Hitchcock’s brilliant story about a dastardly murder plot that goes wrong.
The Big Blue
A movie about two competitors in a sport that you don’t hear a lot about – free-diving. The movie is about the intense competition between the two men and the effect that diving has on each of them. What I found really interesting was that these guys became so obsessed with diving – both the experience of it as much as the competition involved. That became more important to them than life itself. Wonderful photography, although I seem to recall Rosanna Arquette seemed a bit out of place in a movie with such a strong European tone.
Memento
I know this movie infuriates some people, but I loved it. It’s the story of a man with no short term memory who is trying track down his wife’s murderer. Very unusual in that the story is told backwards but very worthwhile
Apollo 13
The story behind this movie is so dramatic that I’m glad Ron Howard did good job putting it on film. I guess the engineer in me really enjoyed the way they had to solve such difficult problems in order to bring the crew back from the moon. I actually remember the events themselves pretty well, even though I was only 7. I remember being at Sunday School in NZ during the crisis and being asked to pray that they would get back safely.
Castaway
I really had no expectation of enjoying this movie. It just seemed like it would be another sappy Hollywood movie. And the ending was a bit like that. But Tom Hanks totally carries the movie. His efforts to get off the island and his relationship with a volleyball were wonderful. It’s interesting that a movie with so little dialog could be so entertaining.
Educating Rita
It’s been so long since I saw this movie (1984) that I don’t honestly remember a lot of detail about it, except that I thought Julie Waters was great. What’s is kind of significant about this movie to me is that I had grown up attending a very legalistic church that taught that going to movies was bad, and at the age of 21 this was the first movie I saw after leaving there. I saw it with a bunch of my guitar-playing friends. So it was quite a milestone for me, and fortunately a very good movie.
The Best Years of Our Lives
This won Oscar in 1946 for best picture and was well deserved I think. It’s the story of three returning servicemen after WWII and their struggles to adjust to life after the war.
Whale Rider
Absolutely no bias in choosing another NZ movie 
. I just really enjoyed the story and the setting on the east coast of the North Island. I struggled a bit with the acting of Rawiri Paratene in the grandfather’s role I think mainly because I think of him as a much younger man and a comedian rather than a dramatic actor. Cliff Curtis also was a bit ordinary as the father, but the standout was Keisha Castle-Hughes as Paikea. Just a phenomenal piece of acting, especially for someone so young.
Oh Brother Where Art Thou?
Loved the humour in this movie and the music.
Identity
I’m not big on horror movies at all, and be warned that there is a lot of violence in this – for that reason I probably wouldn’t want to see it again. But the movie really keeps you guessing to the end. On the face of it a group of people are holed up in a motel in a viscious storm and one by one they begin to get murdered. On the face of it, it looks like a classic whodunnit. But all is not what it seems, which is why I rate this one of my favorites..
Jerry McGuire
Great entertainment, some memorable dialog and some insightful commentary on the depravity of the human (male) heart.
About A Boy
Loved the acting of the young Nicholas Hoult and even Hugh Grant was tolerable. Actually he was perfect for the role – someone you just want to deck. And the final scene at the school concert was great fun.
Door to Door
I think this movie defines heart-warming. The true story of a man with cerebral palsy who spends his whole adult life as a door to door salesman as the world changes around him. William H. Macy is a great actor and he is superb in this movie.
Mr Holland’s Opus
The story of a high school music teacher and the impact he has on his students through a long career.
Finding Forrester
A young aspiring writer develops a friendship with an acclaimed but reclusive novellist.