Primarily, the separation between “Favourite” and “best” is one of quality, and you could perhaps say that the “best” ones are the high brow ones, while the “favourite” ones are somewhat more low brow. To the extent that any of the films I like can be refered to as “low brow”, that is. The best ones are movies I not necessarily watch a lot, but which I think of as qualitatively good and intellectually stimulating. The favourites, on the other hand, aren’t necessarily very intellectually stimulating or anything, but they are one hell of a lot more entertaining, and thus I watch them a lot.
Okay, that’s gonna have to be enough defining for now. Let’s get down to listing.
MY TOP TEN FAVOURITE MOVIES
1. Donnie Darko
This is the tale of a month in the life of the somewhat unusual teenager Donnie Darko, who lives in a small town somewhere in the United States in the late 80s. There’s love, there’s mortal enemies, there’s spiritual sects, there’s paedophilia, there’s pyromaniacs, there’s overly simplified moral beliefs being dissected by Donnie, and there’s science fiction, even though that’s not necessarily obvious until the end. If you haven’t seen it, go do so.
2. Brotherhood of the Wolf
In the middle of the 18th century, a monster hunted in the forests of a remote region of France, and a scientist is sent out by the king to investigate. He brings with him his friend, the Indian Mano, and a deep scepticism towards the superstitious rumours he’s heard from the region. A movie with a truly captivating atmosphere, an action-packed plot, bloody vengeance, reactionary sects, and undercover Papal spies. The manifestation of awesome.
3. Life of Brian
The last time I watched this, I’d forgotten how fun it was, and as a result, I got cramps from laughing at least four or five times. A brilliant parody of the creation of sects and factions of every kind, with Python’s classic mix of slapstick and more intelligent humour.
4. Batman Begins
Going back to the roots of Batman, explaining most of his little quirks and habits — and painting a background for Bruce Wayne’s alter ego that can rival just about anything. A real dream team of great actors (and not in a hollow, commercial-like way), a thrilling plot, solid moral convictions, and everything else you could wish for.
5. X-Men 2
The best of the X-Men movies delves into the background of Wolverine, examines bigotry of all forms and shapes, paints the main characters in detailed presentations (even though I might have wished for some more on certain of them), and lots and lots and lots of action. Thanks to this movie, I’ve spent some NOK 2500 on X-Men comics, and I haven’t regretted it for so much as a moment.
6. Amelié
This one’s just adorable. It’s cute, it’s well made, it’s, well, everything you’d look for in a fell-good movie, really.
7. Kingdom of Heaven
Okay, this is one of the two movies on this list I’m most unsure of, but it has a lot of the kinds of scenes I’m a sucker for, and the scene where Balian knights every soldier in Jerusalem made me cry when I watched it in the cinema. Anyway, a good quasi-historical action drama, and I’d choose this one over Gladiator any day of the week.
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring EE
This is the only LotR movie that makes any of my lists. They’re all awfully entertaining, but they’re nothing more than that, and so I feel that they don’t justify more than one place on my lists. But considering all the other awesome movies I rejected for the lists, that doesn’t really mean that I dislike them or anything.
9. The Royal Tennenbaums
The story of a dysfunctional family in New York, made by Wes Anderson, one of my favourite directors. (Jim Jarmusch had to go, so Anderson gotta get a place.) Now, this is uncanny humour. A bastard of a father, three spoiled genius children (who’re adults; this isn’t a children’s movie, thank the Gods), and a whole set of bizarre and eccentric friends and family members.
10. Hero
A visual dream. The plot is kinda neat, but in a way it drowns beneath all the extravagant fighting and beautiful costumes and scenery. Eye candy a division or two above most other eye candy.
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