5 Film Greats

To save on some of my precious creativity I thought it would be easie-Interesting to have a weekly segment on my blog. That being my 5 greats of something, its films this week, it could be films next week, or could be types of fish. Either way, see it as a recommendation list, not a top 5 thing. I reserve that to the most important matters like cereals. Whatever is in these lists I implore you to check them out. The numerical order has nothing to do with rating they are simple there for cohesion and order.

1. Lonesome Jim

A film starring Casey Affleck in one of his lead roles. In it we follow a  late 20 something writer returning to his parents after an unsuccessful attempt to break New York. He sees himself as a failure and his depressed state is only exacerbated by the seemingly failed lives of others around him in his hometown. His brother Tim, a divorcee who coaches an awful all girls pre-teen basketball team. His uncle a dick who likes prostitutes and using his family to unknowingly help him deal drugs. This black comedy's strengths are its characters and the actors who bring them to reality. Liv Tyler, Casey Affleck, Kevin Corrigan (playing Tim), Mary Kay Place who plays his loveable mother among others, make this film an easy watch despite little happening in the narrative.

2. Cloverfield

Possibly the best cinematic experience of my life. This film blew me away when I watched it on the big screen, one of the only films I saw multiple times in the cinema. On DVD it is still a great watch. Matt Reeves directs a superb film that tells the story of a man, who on the night of his leaving party, realizes he's in love with the girl of his dream and he just has to tell her. Plus there is a giant monster in New York trying to cock block him. I'm not saying anymore, if you haven't seen it, do not speak to me until you have.

3. The Prodigal Son

It's between this and Way of the Dragon for Best Kung-Fu film. The Prodigal Son is about the son of a rich business man who loves his son more then anything in the world. Unknowingly to Leung Chang his father pays people around town to stage fights with him because he's afraid his son will get hurt. It reaches a point were the town of Canton now calls him the Kung-Fu King, people from all over travel to fight him, obviously looking to be paid off. However Leung Chang is rudely awoken to the realisation that his kung-fu is awful by an opera singer named Leung Yee-Tai and anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of the art could beat him. Leung Chang then asks his father to pay Leung Yee-Tai to become his master. The film is a classic kung-fu film, the right amount of humour, drama and action, very well balanced. Plus the training sequences for Wing-Chun are entertaining in themselves and show a lot of what gung-fu is actually all about.

4. Moon

Holy shit what a film. This won't be everyone's favourite sci-fi as all we have to keep our attention is the acting skills of Sam Rockwell (my favourite actor at the moment) and the unraveling mysterious storyline. There is no action and no relationships except of course the relationship between Sam Bell and SPOILER. Considering this, it still had me glued to the screen and very deeply intrigued, in fact the most intriguing and interesting film I've seen. The story line itself is fantastic, one of the most unique sci-fi films ever. Definitely in the top 10 sci-fi films, it's more of a 2001: Space Odyssey affair then let's say Aliens or Star Wars. But not too out there like Space Odyssey more close to Earth HA! That's a joke because its set on the moon and Space Odyssey was set in God's ball sack.

5. The Wood

3 teenagers growing up in L.A. cope with gangsters, girls and virginity. Most films set in L.A. we see are about how hard it is for african-americans coping against the system that is there to keep them down, heavy and eye-opening stuff, but its always good to have a balance. The Wood is what's on the other side of the see-saw. It's funny and comforting as the story is told retrospecitively from Mike (Mike Epps), a writer, who is one of the two best men at his best friends wedding. Any lad growing up has experienced what happens in this film, if you haven't then you haven't had a real childhood. Every single male on the planet can relate to this film, every single one. Without exception, except the weirdo's who didn't like sex. Seriously no film can say that, it's a more realistic version of American Pie, but I'd say more funny in a more subtle way.

So that's my five films that you need to watch. Your deadline for this homework is until the next time I see you..................I'm behind you.