As a lover of films I proudly own a huge amount of DVD’s and Bluray films I’ve collected over the years, approximately 700 in all, and having decided to watch them all I’ve started a journey revisiting worlds, characters and stories that I may not have seen again as the DVD’s sit on their shelving gathering dust.
Some movies have been binned or sold on eBay after viewing, or post viewing (I’ll list them later) and some have brought back fond memories of why I bought them and why I love movies so much.
Having so far watched up to Godfather on my adventure to view all my movies from A-Z in order, which has so far taken about two years, I’ve constantly added to my collection and started re-buying some films on Bluray to get the most out my TV and maximise my viewing pleasure.
I also find myself searching in HMV or Amazon regularly to find any films in the G’s or H’s I haven’t got yet so I can watch them soon, it’s kind of got to an addiction level with the more I watch the more I want to watch.
There have been times where I’ve bought films in the S’s or T’s for example and refuse to watch them out of order because Ive a system! I desperately want to see “There Will Be Blood” on Bluray but I wont”¦.out of principle, I need help!
I thought I should review each letter and give my top 5 films from each alpha block and maybe bring your attention to some films you may not have seen, films you’ve not seen in ages or films you should give another try.
First off was the A’s.
With such classics as Airplane, Alien, Aliens and Annie Hall it was a fine start to my adventure. Airplane was hilarious, Alien was as scary as it always has been, Aliens was a stunning all out action horror movie and Annie Hall was a quite brilliant subtle comedy film and all were a joy to watch, but I choose 5 films that I think were the best of the A’s and they were, in no particular order:
American Movie ““ This film is an amazing documentary following a man’s dream of making a movie with his friends, you watch him struggle with family problems, financial problems, drinking problems and filming problems. 
The camera crew follow like-able Mark Borchardt, a long haired struggling American trying to live his American dream as an amateur film maker, he uses his friends, local actors and maxing out his credit cards to make a film called North Western but struggles to get anywhere with it, so he returns to completing a Horror film called Coven, a film he was working on but never completed years before.
He borrows money from his eccentric uncle Bill to finish the movie and along with his best friend and musician Mike Schank, who produces some of the films funniest moments, they set on completing the movie.
The film is a great watch and you really want Mark to succeed, you watch him struggle with normal life, with family, relationships and financial problems and you get a fascinating look at a struggling American’s life trying to live a dream which I too have a passion for.
American Beauty ““ Is this Kevin Spacey’s finest film? Possibly. Spacey plays a man with the supposedly perfect life but entering into a depression and mid-life crisis which e
scalates when he becomes infatuated with his daughters friend, buys a sports car and becomes friends with a teenager boy from next door who sells him weed this all leads to a mind blowing ending that leaves you shocked and amazed.
The film is beautifully shot and directed by Sam Mendes and fully deserves it’s 5 Oscars. It’s an unexpected classic with every aspect of the film working perfectly to produce one of the all time great movies.
American Psycho ““ The film for me that launched Christian Bale into adult stardom.
I’ve never seen a portrayal of a psychotic killer on film as good as this, and as funny!
American psycho is one of the most dark funny disturbing films of all time, it’s humour is subtle in ways you feel wrong laughing at times and the setting of 80’s yuppie America is fantastically realised.
Christian Bale is so stunning as Patrick Bateman that you can see why he has become one of the most passionate actors of our generation who totally immerses himself in every role he does, He is Patrick Bateman in this film.
Patrick Bateman is by day a wealthy successful investment banker and by night has the urge to kill people, and does in brutal ways whether it’s a chainsaw or a big f’n axe which is terrifying to watch but in a horrible way you kind of like him.
Stunning film if you haven’t seen it, you must do so soon.
Amelie – Probably one of the most beautifully made films of all time, the colours are stunning the acting is sublime and the story is one that is both affectionate and memorable that you won’t forget it for days after.
The film is French and made by the amazing Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It stars Audrey Tautau as Amelie, a young girl who decides to devote her life to helping people after finding a man’s lost childhood memories by chance and returning it to him, the delight it brings to him gives her this new perspective on life.
The story unfolds in wonderful little stories of people she choses to help, her father and his garden gnome, a failed writer, a hypochondriac, a stalker, the photo booth ghost, a young shop assistant, an old man who’s bones are as brittle as glass and the love of her life.
Every little story is woven together so well and expertly told that you can’t help but love the film and get drawn into Amelie’s world.
Nominated for 5 Oscars, it should of won them all!
American Splendor – A bizarre film this, but a fantastic comic book adaption from the comic of the same name. Starring Paul Giamatti as Harvey Pekar the creator of the American Splendor comic, the film follows Harvey in 1970’s as he goes through life as a miserable hopeless part of existence that enjoys scouring garage sales for bargains.
It’s at one of these sales that he meets Robert Crumb, who later becomes a successful underground comic book writer, this makes Harvey inspired to create his own comic and comes up with American Splendor a comic that’s a realistic unsentimental documentation of his working class life, the comic brings him fame and love and is a cracking watch.
The film breaks the forth wall at times, and also cuts in with Giamatti talking to the real Harvey Pekar on set which brings a realism to the movie.
Giamatti is stunning in this film and has won numerous awards for his role as Harvey Pekar. The film is slow moving but entertaining and was a real treat to watch as i bought it by chance on a drunken night out on recommendation from a fellow drunk friend.
I hope you enjoy these films us much as i did, i would love to hear your thoughts.
That concludes the A’s, I’ll be back shortly with my next top 5 B films.
