My Top Five Movies of All Time

For years, I have tried to decide my top three movies of all time and in what order they would fall.  I'm now 35 and I reckon my top five are now pretty much fixed.  Here they are.....what are yours?

1.  Batman Begins.

Have you ever watched a movie then immediately watched it again?  Well I have done that several times with this movie.  Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan, this was a reinvention of the popular DC Comics brand after the disasterous Clooney incarnation and "nipplegate."  Nolan decided to start at the very beginning and show us the dark and tragic events leading up to The Caped Crusader's birth.  Bale was a perfect bit of casting given his terrifyingly funny performance in American Psycho.  The movie is littered with great cinematic moments, my favourite of which is Rachael's realisation that Batman is her childhood sweetheart, Bruce Wayne.  The cinematography is spectacular and the score perfectly fits the mood of the movie as well as the humble and mysterious nature of Batman himself.  This movie revitalised the comic book movie and was bold and brave enough to ask questions of society and the extent to which we are all responsible for it.



2.  The Odd Couple

The big screen version of a hit Neil Simon broadway play.  Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon star in a clever and witty tale of two friends with very different lifestyles, thrown together in a New York apartment.  What I love about this movie is that, apart from two or three scenes, you could be watching a play filmed live.  The dialogue is the best I've ever heard in a comedy and the comic timing from both the leads is impeccable.  The chemistry between Matthau and Lemmon is both explosive and endearing with both characters often fighting and being affectionate in the same sentence!


3.  Jaws

This has quite often been my number one movie over the years and perhaps in a couple of years when I've given it a rest, it may be again.  If I was listing the top five movies of importance to the industry, then I'm sure this gem would be on that list.  Based on the best selling novel by Peter Benchley, this is the tale of a rogue Great White shark, terrorising the inhabitants and tourists of American coastal town, Amity.  Famously, the mechanical shark was dogged with technical problems from the outset of filming.  In my opinion, this was a major factor of the movie's success.  Director Steven Spielberg had to rely on suspense and the 'unseen' to provide the terror, compensating for the over budget and broken shark!  Fantasic casting and a masterpiece of directing on a Hitchcock scale, this movie heralded a time of great change in the movie industry.
 



4.  The Matrix

The real brilliance of this movie comes from inner turmoil and realisation.  Realisation there is something else at work, realistation that life is a dream, realisation that Neo really is the one.  I was so disappointed in the sequels I don't even acknoweldge their existence.  As a stand alone tale of self discovery, love and thoughtful science fiction, it is second to none.  The invention of a new special effects technique(bullet time), a fantastic, thought provoking script and a near magical feeling throughout this movie makes for a true classic.  A futuristic Kung Fu Western!



5.  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This movie really surprised me.  The review I read lead me to believe I was about to watch a slightly high brow romantic comedy - compounded by the fact that I was having trouble imagining Jim Carrey in the lead role.  A thoroughly original and captivating tale of two broken hearts that need mending.  It asks the question; if you could have painful memories erased from your mind, would you do it, regardless of their precious nature.  It takes you into the mind of Jim Carrey as he struggles to hold on to the memories of Kate Winslet as the process of memory removal plays out.    In my opinion, Kate Winslet's best performance to date.


So, there you have them.  Ask me again in six months they will probably be in a different order but most likely, will be the same five movies.  Out of pure interest, the only other movie with a shout would be Man on Fire, starring Denzel Washington.

Now, what makes your top five?