Well, I have seen this list of movies in alphabetical order at many blog posts. Being the movie buff that I am I decided to take it up. The list are solely my preferences if I am given with the choice of watching just one movie from each alphabet.
A: As Good As It Gets
One of my favorite romantic comedy. Jack Nicholson gives commendable performance as a obsessive compulsive misanthropic man. Helen Hunt also came into forefront with an equally laudable performance.
Both of them (Jack’s 3rd and Helen’s 1st) won Academy Awards for this wonderful film.
B: Back To The Future
A feel good movie that doesn’t fail to bring a smile to the face no matter how many times you may have watched it. My favorite part is the sexual tension between Mcfly (Michael Fox) and his mother played by the gorgeous Lea Thompson.
A truly family film from the stable of Robert Zemekis. Although I think the 2nd and 3rd part were really unnecessary.
C: Cinderella Man
A very inspiring movie about how a man fights for his family in the great depression era. Excellent performances from Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger. A true riches to rags to riches story of James J. Braddock.
It performed poorly at the box office. May be because Million Dollar Baby was released around the same time and had the same theme: boxing.
D: Die Hard
That’s how we know Bruce Willis. Perhaps the best action movie ever. The rest of the movies in the same franchise are no less thrilling but the first will always remain special. It introduced for the first time a man against x no. of goons and against the tide of time.
Favorite One liners from John McClane : ‘Yippee ka Yay, Mothafucka!!’
E: Eastern Promises
The best film to come from David Cronenberg, it successfully depicts the murky under goings inside the Russian Underworld. Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn from LOTR) gives a somber performance in this dark and gory film.
Mortensen collected his nomination for the Academy Awards from this movie.
F: Forrest Gump
Another feel good movie from Robert Zemekis about a mentally retarded guy. Anything he touches essentially turns into gold. The range of emotions one goes through as one watches the film is difficult to describe.
It won 6 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor( Hank’s 2nd after Philadelphia).
G: Groundhog Day
Actually I have lost count of the number of times I have watched this delightful comedy with romance ever so subtly insinuated. What performance from Bill Murray in an equally innovative plot. Good supporting role from Andie MacDowell.
Strange thing is not even nominated for Oscars. A neglected masterpiece.
H: Hotel Rwanda
Can be called an African Schindler’s List, this heart wrenching tale is about a hotelier’s effort at saving the Tutu population from the Hutu militia.
A really inspirational movie that was nominated for 3 Oscars (Best Actor, Supporting Actress and Original Screenplay). Don’t forget to keep your handkerchiefs' with you while watching it.
I: It Happened One Night
A classic romantic comedy. The title is miss leading as the story takes place over several nights, none of them more important than the other. If you think you haven’t seen it, well ‘Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi’ is a frame by frame copy of this film.
It was the first film to win the Grand slam of Oscars i.e. Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director and Original Screenplay.
J: Jurassic Park
Adaptation of the novel by Michael Crichton by the same name, Spielberg introduced heavy CGI effects to bring the dinosaurs into reality and boy! did he succeed. I got to finally see it when I was like 10 years old. I remember staring at the screen in awe at the marvelous, life-like creatures.
It went on to became the highest grossing movie of its time beating E.T.
K: Kill Bill
We also get to see Pai Mei’s ‘Five Point Palm exploding Heart technique.’
L: La Vita e’ bella
A tragic comedy that makes you smile and cry at the same time. It’s about a man’s (superbly played by Roberto Benigni) effort to save his son in a Nazi concentration camp using his imagination. Among all the good movies about the Holocaust, this one’s got a totally different flavor.
It went to win 5 Oscars including Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor.
M: Memento
Memento is Nolan’s Best film to date. It is like a non-linear puzzle. Nolan doesn’t allow the audience to get ahead of the film at all and the final picture gets clear at the very end.
Anybody who says that Ghajini is inspired from it should jump from the 22nd floor of a building. It couldn’t even depict anterograde amnesia properly (What was that ‘15 minutes’ bullshit).
N: Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
If you wanna cry out of sheer sense of nostalgia, go no where. This movie reminded me of my childhood and my friendship with an old man who used to tell me fascinating stories about jinns, witches, demons and ghosts. The last scene was like a heart wrenching waltz.
Won Oscar for Best Foreign Language film.
O: October Sky
An inspirational movie about Homer Hickam who pursues rocketry against strong reservations from his father. Just goes to show how if one has got his head and heart at the same place, no one can stop him.
Brought Jake Gyllenhaal right into focus and he has been doing fine job since( Brokeback Mountain, Donnie Darko).
P: Pulp Fiction
It’s not one single plot, but a collection various of various sub-plots connected very loosely shown in a non-linear fashion. Two sub-plots standout. One’s involving Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta & the other involving Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames( Mr. Wallace).
The USP of the film is the violence and the punchy lines. Won Oscar for Best Screenplay.
Q: Quantum of Solace
Hmm…not enough films starting with Q. No I don’t have any objections to a blonde bond. I thought that Casino Royale was a superb movie. One of the reasons I found it superb was the lack of stupid gadgets. I had enjoyed the hand to hand combats.
Quantum of Solace on the other hand is no doubt a fine movie but doesn’t even comes close to Casino Royale by miles.
R: Reservoir Dogs
Am I a Tarantino fan or what? Three films already in this list. An inspiration for independent film makers, this film is notorious for its violence and brash language. Audience find the ear-cutting scene too unnerving to handle.
The black humor is all too evident and the opening discussion about Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’ sets up the perfect tone for me.
S: Sin City
Wow!! This movie adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, is like watching a comic come into life. This particular technique of camerawork was used later in300, Beowulf and The Spirit.
A host of heavy actors, mind blowing action(especially involving Mickey Rourke), exotic women(remember meho) and gun totting men…you have all that makes it the perfect popcorn movie.
T: The Lord of the Rings
I am not much of a book reader but I should thank Peter Jackson for bringing out this grand adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings. The awesomeness of this trilogy is perhaps only matched by George Lucas’ The Star Wars saga.
All 3 movies feature in IMDB’s top 50 movies and have won a total of 17 Oscars. What more can I say!!
U: Unforgiven
The legend of William Munny. Last lines from William Munny after the legendary gun-fight at the bar:
‘You better bury Ned right! Better not go cuttin' up... nor otherwise harm no whores... or I'll come back and kill every one of you sons-o-bitches.’
Clint Eastwood won his first 2 Oscars for this film a feat he went on to repeat in ‘Million Dollar Baby’.
V: V for Vendetta
I have actually lost count the no. of times I have seen this movie. Every time I see the movie, it gives me the goose bumps. I haven’t seen a better screenplay writing (Wachowski Brothers) than this. Mesmerizing and powerful dialogue delivery from Hugo Weaving(Agent Smith). Able support from Natalie Portman.
Should have been nominated for Oscars.
W: What Women Want
There were quite a few contenders for the W category…Wall-E, Wedding Crashers, When Harry met Sally etc. (probably better than this), but since Helen Hunt is in it, I had to choose it. I am a sucker for Helen Hunt. Besides, I enjoyed it very much.
Besides, every man wants to listen to what women are thinking :P. Just nominated for Golden Globes.
X: X-Men
Y: Young Frankenstein
What a comedy!! I mean this film is a laugh riot. This is how a parody should be made. You can list about a 100 things that you can learn from this movie. I was laughing my ass off from the beginning till the end. A very rich tribute to the classic horrors of 1930’s.
Thank you Mr.. Mel Brook for Young Frankenstein or shall I say Fronk-en-steen!!
Z: Zodiac
A very gripping thriller from David Finch, but not as engaging, brooding or surrealistic as Se7en or Fight Club. Still holds out on its own as you engage with Jake Gyllenhaal into solving the case, based on the facts available to you. Mark Ruffalo gives a convincing performance as a frustrated cop who has failed to nab the serial killer.
Features in almost every critics list of movies to watch in 2007.
1: 12 Angry Men
Brilliant debut movie from Sidney Lumet. One room, 12 extraordinary actors, one rock solid script and you have a genius of a film. This movie explained to me the need of a good script for a successful movie. Very absorbing drama.
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Lost out to ‘Bridge on River Kwai’.
2: 21 Grams
Tells the story of 3 individuals, how there lives are affected as a single incident ties them together. Shot chronologically but edited to jumble up the past, present and the future. Difficult to understand for the first 30 minutes but, then it eases out.
The narrative in the last few minutes is thought-provoking. It says: ‘How many lives do we live and how many deaths do we die?’
3: 300
Movie adaptation of another graphic novel from Frank Miller about the battle of thermopylae. Another treat for the eye. The effects are breathtaking. So, excited I was after seeing the trailer of the movie that I caught the first day first show of the movie and I was not disappointed.
The post production work took 1 year to complete with 10 special-effects companies working on it.
4: 4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile
4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days. A movie about 2 friends trying for an illegal abortion in communist Romania. The film is entirely shot with just a single camera and the acting is just absolutely perfect.
This film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival. It is Romania’s official entry for Oscars in the Foreign Film category.
5: 50 First Dates
A mushy romantic tale about how a man has to win the heart of his lady love every single day as she forgets him the very next day. As is the case with Adam Sandler’s most movies, this movie is entertaining and you wouldn’t feel bored. Drew Barrymore as usual looks cute and gives a reasonable performance.
8: 8mm
8 mm has a very interesting plot. An investigator investigating about a tape of a snuff movie found in the safe of a dead industrialist. But, that’s about it. The film falls flat and what could have been a gripping thriller, ceases to be despite the presence of a charismatic actor like Cage.
9: 9 Songs
9 songs is famous for only one thing. A mainstream film showing explicit unsimulated sex. Personally, I couldn’t find any difference between a porno and this film. All kinds of jobs and positions are shown unabated and the border between art and pornography becomes really smudgy.
[]: [.REC]
A Spanish horror film. The camerawork is shaky and amateurish which adds authenticity to the horror that the director is trying to inflict upon the audience.
Similar camerawork in ‘The Blair Witch Project’ and ‘Cloverfield’ appealed to me very much.
PS: No worthwhile movie starting with 6,7 or 0.
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