1. Let the Right One In, Directed by Tomas Alfredson
Starring Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, & Per Ragnar
Little Oskar is bullied by peers and overlooked by grown-ups and dreams of a gory revenge. Eli is a vampire in a child's body who lives off blood and finds an unlikely ally in Oskar. Complex vampire story makes you care for the two children and hope for the best for them, even when hope seems bleak.
Favorite Character- Oskar
2. The Fall, Directed by Tarsem
Starring Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, & Leo Bill
My favorite movie of all time. Visually astonishing and extraordinary film on an epic scale, filled with humor and heartbreak, and no special effects (imagine!) Too bad Tarsem's newest films look like shite.
Favorite Character- Alexandria
3. Treacle Jr. Directed by Jamie Thraves
Starring Aidan Gillen, Tom Fisher, & Riann Steele
Straight-laced and deeply depressed Tom (Fisher) meets gregarious, brain-damaged former "blue baby" Aidan (Gillen) in this low budget Brit drama that avoids maudlin sentimentality.
Favorite Character- Aidan
4. Tony, Directed by Gerard Johnson
Starring Peter Ferdinando, Ricky Grover, & Neil Maskell
Character study of weirdo loner who just happens to be a serial killer should not be mistaken for a plot-driven affair, but for certain people the film will hold pleasures of its own.
Favorite Character- Tony
5. The Living and the Dead, Directed by Simon Rumley
Starring Leo Bill, Kate Fahy, & Roger Lloyd-Pack
Mentally ill/retarded man-child (Bill) spazzes out and runs wild when his disgruntled dad (Lloyd-Pack) goes away on business, locking himself in Dad's run-down mansion with his cancer-ridden mother. Nightmarish and horrifying low-budget film is laden with obscure dream sequences and Bill's spazzing. I can't guarantee you won't suffer trauma from this one.
Favorite Character- James
Continue Reading List ...
An eclectic list - that's what I like to see! Looking forward to the next lists!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Glad Fight Club and Taxi Driver made the cut, those are in my top 10. Heard of Room 237 (2012)? A new documentary about The Shining that might be of interest.
ReplyDeleteAlways nice to see what other bloggers have as favorites, and lots of obscurities here makes it very personal. Look forward to part 2!
(though I must just confess my computer is struggling to load this and crashing, because so many youtube videos in a single post. I would probably max have 5 videos in each post, or just link to trailers)
My mom fixed it for you. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to "Taxi Driver" much. I thought it was going to be a stupid boring revenge movie. But it turned out to be more of a character study, and a really good one at that. Now I see why it's a classic!
DeleteI want to watch "Room 237," but since I never read the book 'The Shining,' I might be a little lost.
Very interesting list! Can't believe Tony is in there. I just watched it recently after a colleague had been raving about it. He quotes it all the time at work which is quite amusing!
ReplyDeleteSounds lie a guy I'd like to meet. I'm always driving my family crazy by repeating movie lines over... and over. My current favorite- quoting Aidan Gillen in "Treacle Jr." He was such a fun yet tragic character!
DeleteThat's quite a list! You and my husband share similar movie tastes. American Beauty is one of my husband's favorite movies, but one I didn't like at all. He also really likes Up and There's Something About Mary.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Fargo quite a bit and you bring back memories with the mention of The Cabin in the Woods. Enchanted is such a fun movie. And I really liked Winter's Bone (the book is even better).
I received Brave for Christmas this past year but haven't yet watched it. I've heard mixed reviews about it, but I think it's one I will like.
A great list Sarah; well written and insightful. I would recommend you bold the titles within the list though, for those who wish to quickly scan the list. Toward the end of the list I was thinking, I'm surprised "Up" isn't in here, then, tada, there it was, right at the end. What I want to see now is your list of least favorites.
ReplyDeleteThe Fall is a gorgeous and imaginative film -- I can see why it's your all-time favorite. Treacle Jr. is quite good and, in my opinion, sadly overlooked. I'd love to see it get a wider audience.
ReplyDeleteI've seen only Let the right one in and The Fall on this list. Never heard of most of the others but do want to check that Tony flick.
ReplyDeleteI really need to watch The Fall.
ReplyDelete