10 of the Best: #9

In at number nine 9 is a film that, when I watched it, it felt like an old spielburgian I had never seen before, but should have. Super 8 has unavoidable similarities to films such as E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial, but does not come off as a rip-off. Set in a small town in Ohio, it tells the story of Joe Lamb, a 14 year old boy who has recently lost his Mother, and witnesses a massive train crash and tries to uncover the mysteries surrounding it. How did the train crash? Why was it derailed by one man in a car driving straight for it? His search leads him to discover the strange white cubes that the train was carrying are as far from what they seem as possible…

Meanwhile, Joe and his friends are making a sci-fi-slash-zombie film with a super 8 camera for which Joe is the make-up artist. Through this he meets Alice (Fanning), the main and only actress on their film. Elle Fanning's character is on paper simply the object of Joe's romantic affections, but she has made the character much more than that. I was blown away by her acting, and in my opinion she stole a show with so many strong components.

Everything comes to a head when the army arrives in town with the purpose of collecting all the white cubes from the train. The problem? Joe keeps one in his room...

10 of the Best: #10

I've decided to start a series where I share my 10 favourite films of all time. Keep in mind: this list is subjective, so try not to quiver with rage if I don't mention E.T or 2001, or whatever floats your boat. To put this list in context, I have seen a lot of films, maybe even too many. So for a film to be in my top 10 is the biggest of deals.

Number Ten:

A Fistful of Dollars: 
Directed by Sergio Leone, Starring Clint Eastwood

Made in 1964 as a fresh take on what had then become a tired genre, this spaghetti-western spurred (see what I did there?) two equally as good sequels, the most famous of which being The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. 

Clint Eastwood plays an unnamed bounty killer, who uses the feud between two rival families who both seek control of the small mexican town to his advantage. He is a taciturn, watchful anti-hero, and an incredibly cool one. All does not go according to plan of course, when the Man-With-No-Name runs into some trouble with one of the families and, for lack of a better phrase, shit goes down. 

Favourite Quote:

MWNN: [Before a gunfight, to the undertaker.] Get three coffins ready.

MWNN: [After same gunfight, to the undertaker] My mistake: four coffins.

"Rule number 1. This business. Real life? Boring."

This week's must see film is Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the debut of director Shane Black (who coincidentally also directed Iron Man 3). Is is consiered Robert Downey Jr's best work and the best film of 2005, most likely because of the witty, unpredictable script and its obvious homage to films noirs. It tells the story of Harry Lockhart, a thief-turned-actor visiting Los Angeles for a screen test, which he earned after he was robbing a toy shop and his partner got shot by a women on her balcony. Yes, you read that right. It has a detailed plot, bear with me. He bumps into Harmony, his childhood friend, but all's not as fairtale-like as it seems. In high school, Harmony would cry on Harry's shoulder because she was "fucking every guy in school". Also, she says fuck a lot. To improve his acting Harry must shadow a private detective, which is where 'Gay' Perry comes in, and provides the film's best one-liners. Case and point:

Harry: Do you think I'm stupid? 

Perry: I don't think you'd know where to put food at, if you didn't flap your mouth so much. Yes I think you're stupid. 

Soon the two sides of the story collide, with surprising consequences. Fingers are cut off, balls are electrocuted, and there is definately some gun action. A black comedy to a T, in other words.

One thing that I personally love is the breaking of the fourth wall. While the characters dont suddenly turn and address the camera, narrator-Harry is self-aware, and will comment on scenes after they've finished. 

Harry: [narrating] Anyway, by now you may wonder how I wound up here. Or, maybe not. Maybe you wonder how silly putty picks shit up from comic books. The point is, I don't see another Goddamn narrator, so pipe down. 

tl;dr? Watch this film. It will be the best thing you do this week.

Best quote:

Perry: [to the audience] Thanks for coming, please stay for the end credits, if you're wondering who the best boy is, it's somebody's nephew. Don't forget to validate your parking, and to all you good people in the Midwest, sorry we said fuck so much.