My Perfect Ten Movies

Christopher Nolan does just what the characters of Inception had set out to do - sowing the seed of a premise and concept that holds so much promise and then delivering that promise with such aplomb, so much so that you'll want to continue living in that world created by the cognitive senses by interpreting what's on screen, then fantasizing on it a lot more with the subconscious.

Inception is Nolan's masterstroke, delving deep into the subconscious of the human mind. Technical brilliance and visual splendor have rarely blended together as beautifully.

Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free - The Shawshank Redemption shows us that there is hope even within the walls of a prison.

Frank Darabont uses his powers as a supreme storyteller and an astonishing visualist to their fullest effect. He leaves us a poignant film with a powerful message of hope, and redemption, masterfully told. It is deeper than most films; about continuity in a lifetime, based on friendship and hope that can reduce the most hardened into misty-eyed wonderment.

"I choose chaos", says the Joker (Heath Ledger, who is mad-crazy-blazing brilliant) and those words sum up what's at stake in The Dark Knight. Directed by Christopher Nolan, this movie is an absolute stunner. Feverish action? Check. Dazzling spectacle? Check. Devilish fun? Check. There's something raw and elemental at work in this artfully imagined universe.

The movie creates a place where good and evil — expected to battle it on — decide instead to get it on and dance. The haunting and visionary Dark Knight soars on the wings of untamed imagination.

From the ever-reliable purveyors of digital charm at Pixar, Toy Story 3 is a bona-fide summer delight loaded with action, humor, nostalgia, a veritable blizzard of pop-culture references and general good vibes. It is injected with humour and powered by fun as the adventures of Woody, Buzz and Co brings these toys together in ways that will entertain and move you. What the film does so beautifully is to twist the existential crisis of a toy into a reckoning of our younger selves. It understands how we attach fond significance to those things that have been mute companions and witnesses through the years, and have measured our lost time.

Toy Story 3 hits every button from laughter to tears and lifts you up on waves of visual dazzlement. Unflinchingly honest and genuinely moving, Toy Story 3 is a marvel, an absolute touchstone in movie history. Tag it as one of Pixar's best!

A tight script, intelligent direction and fabulous performances by one of the best ensemble casts in history, make this a timeless film and an exemplary study in characterization.

The drama plays out at an engaging pace making this brilliant war of words an entrancing cinematic experience. Sidney Lumet creates energy and movement through quick editing and varying camera angles, which makes the film pulse with power and emotion despite it's one set location. If you love movies you owe it to yourself to see this one.

The Prestige is a carefully crafted story of two rival magicians in Victorian England, directed by the greatest magician of them all - Christopher Nolan. There are nifty tricks galore up the sumptuous sleeve of this mystifying and wildly entertaining thriller, about obsession, secrets and lies.

Nolan has been exploring the dual nature of man throughout his extraordinary career. With The Prestige though, Nolan takes this aspect to new realms. He directs the film exactly like a great trick, so you want to see it again the second it's over. I'd call that wicked clever!

In Schindler's List, we see images that we never thought we would ever see in a non-documentary film. It will kick you in the stomach and not stop until you can't take anymore. It will twist your finger and force you to open your eyes and take in things you would hope to never see in your whole life.

Marked by a brilliant screenplay, exceptionally supple technique, three staggeringly good lead performances and an attitude toward the traumatic subject matter that is both passionately felt and impressively restrained, this is the film to win over Spielberg skeptics.

The Dark Knight Rises arrived in cinemas on the back of deafening hype. The astronomical expectations seemed insurmountable for even a visionary of Nolan's caliber. So does Nolan deliver?

Absolutely! Bold and unflinching with a scale so magnificent, his grandiose style is an unrelenting and marvelous spectacle making The Dark Knight Rises an art piece of such boundless spectacle and an epic of never-seen-before scope and scale. It visually obliterates the modern blockbuster with a story of daring boldness, leaving its audience breathless.

With its myriad of characters, story elements, plot beats and emotional arcs, it becomes a gripping adventure commanding every iota of your attention. The Dark Knight Rises is intelligent, heart-pounding spectacle cinema that grips like a vice from minute one and won't let go. Hail Nolan!

Director Wolfgang Petersen’s claustrophobic masterpiece Das Boot is the ultimate submarine adventure that will leave you with no more fingernails to chew. We follow the exploits of the crew of German submarine U-96, as it gets sent on its mission to destroy Allied convoys.

The submarine is 10 feet by 150 feet, and the sweaty claustrophobia of dim lights, reverberating sounds and confined faces is conveyed spectacularly through some amazing performances and incredible direction. And such is the marvellous depiction of fear in the crew's eyes, as they huddle in silence each time the enemy lurks above! The suspense literally keeps you at the edge of your seat - the silence, deafening. The movie is put together with such fantastic detail, it brings us into the very belly of U-96, almost smelling the mouldy air, feeling the sickening lurches of the depth charges and yearning for fresh air. Brilliant, moving filmmaking like this deserves a place on your shelf.

Make no mistake, this movie is not pretty. It's not fun. It made me squirm and cringe. Not because it was bad, but because it's powerful stuff.

It is a refreshing change from the usual saccharine attempts to address racism - a brilliant tale told without restraint or bias. When Edward Norton's brilliant, fully rounded performance rubs up against the film's grainy toughness - complimented by an impressive, gut-wrenching screenplay - American History X becomes an exhilarating experience.

The Silence of the Lambs is a movie without unnecessary excess, with all its' facets merging perfectly in the telling of the tale. It runs the gamut of emotions while still capturing a clever wit and a searing intelligence. Jonathan Demme exercises a great level of restraint in the midst of portraying madness.

But no comment about this film is complete without a mention of the lead cast. Hopkin's Hannibal Lecter is a visual treat. What makes him more than your everyday villain is the piercing intelligence and irresistible charm he brings to the role. Jodie Foster imbues Clarice Starling with such humanity one can't help but feel connected to her and her pain.

A powerfully compelling cinematic experience!

An acerbic, darkly comic critique of how social conventions can lead people into false, sterile and emotionally stunted lives, American Beauty is a real American original. Sam Mendes (in one of the most promising debuts in cinematic history) whips the audience around from humor to horror to something poetic and humane.

American Beauty is emotionally satisfying. There's a sense of poignancy at the end, but also the feeling that we have been on an incredible trip through the lives and souls of three perfectly-realized characters.

The result is the kind of artful defiance that Hollywood is usually too timid to deliver: a jolting comedy that makes you laugh till it hurts.

The film is beautifully understated, eschewing sentimentality in favor of raw emotion and letting the story tell itself. The acting is flawless with Don Cheadle's breathtaking performance being a particular standout and a stirring potrayal of Paul's Tutsi wife, Tatiana by Sophie Okonedo.

Filled with indelible, haunting images, it's a moving and provocative film that shows how one man can make a difference, even when the evils and horrors around him appear unsurmountable. All in all, this is a film of rare courage and imperishable heart that deserves to be seen.

Pixar's animation wonder - Finding Nemo, is a shimmery, velvety undersea coming-of-age story which is aglow with translucent sea flora and shimmering, iridescent creatures. Every moment is magnificently orchestrated to tease a response from us - anything from awe to aw-shucks - and those who don't fall for it are sure to be denounced as insensitive, blind to the magic of animation and, last but not least, pitiably unable to view the world through the eyes of a child.

All in all - A buoyant adventure that continues Pixar’s winning streak! It's pure artistry!

It's been a long time since a movie had me laughing, crying, feeling anxious, shouting at the screen in anger, feeling warm and fuzzy and ending with me feeling like I need a support group just to deal with the climax!

With Avengers: Infinity War, not only do the Russo Brothers orchestrate mayhem on a staggering scale, they succeed in fitting together all the pieces of a massive jigsaw in which each character has a place and a chance to shine, while cleverly juxtaposing humor with the tragic scenes, so you don't feel overwhelmed seeing all the destruction.

It ends on a gut-punch cliffhanger, albeit not one that makes you feel ripped off. Avengers: Infinity War feels like the stunning culmination of a decade's work at Marvel and every superhero fan's dream epic.

To finish Marvel’s first decade and clear the ground for the second, all Marvel had to do was to tie up all the myriad strands of plot (including the pan-cosmic genocide of Infinity War) and countless emotional conflicts left dangling by the 22-strong series launched in 2008. But with Avengers: Endgame, they do all of that and so much more. With this movie, Marvel does not merely redefine the superhero genre, but takes the old model, beats it to a pulp, and creates a genus that consistently delivers on action and emotion-filled story lines built on genuinely human characters. It dares to wrestle with big, existential issues, confront some surprisingly grown up questions and take enormous narrative risks.

It represents a staggering achievement on several fronts, none perhaps quite as startling as its absolute mastery of narrative. A miraculous blend of grief and humor- big, bold, brash, then sneakily meta. The word 'epic' gets thrown around so much that we've forgotten what it actually means. This movie is here to remind you exactly that!

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is loaded with a troupe of unforgettable larrikins, played with boisterous enthusiasm by a solid, ensemble cast.

The plot is very clever and has a delirious pace (Guy Ritchie in top form) that threatens to draw you from your seat at every turn as the fortunes of the protagonists change in flashes, from sky-high to rock bottom. Thus begins a violent, dangerous and funny ride to the unexpected conclusion of the film.

The movie works beautifully as an exercise in joyful anarchy, an unsentimental roller-coaster ride that is both violent and funny. It has an exuberance, and in a time when movies follow formulas like zombies, it's alive.

The irony here is that nothing is remotely 'usual' about The Usual Suspects. The plot is a Chinese puzzle box of a thriller.

The Usual Suspects is acted to sweet perfection with an absolutely enthralling performance by Kevin Spacey. Bryan Singer's sensationally assured direction exerts a riptide pull. A terrific cast of exciting actors socks over this absorbingly complicated yarn that's been spun in seductively slick fashion.

A whammy of a surprise ending makes you want to see the film again to see if Singer pulled a few fast ones to make the pieces fit. A must watch!

The Avengers is a clean-burning, six-cylinder entertainment -a wall-to-wall action bonanza, executed with a fluid coherence. It laughs in the face of expectation and instead sets its own bar that all blockbusters need to follow. Smart, funny and pulsating, Joss Whedon succeeds in appeasing its core fanbase. If you dont believe me, check out the thrilling alien-bashing finale on the streets of Manhattan - it is a pure fanboy wet-dream.

From ambition to scale to the way it justly balances each remarkable character - The Avengers is utterly stimulating, satisfyingly scripted and damn right faultless big screen entertainment. The Avengers make us do something increasingly rare in these over-franchised times - root for a sequel. Go smash!

Witness for the Prosecution is much more than your quintessential courtroom drama - it is a labyrinthine thriller that has a palpable atmosphere of treachery to give you one of the most involving films ever made.

It has Billy Wilder's dark, intelligent and witty paw prints all over the snappy dialogue, unique characters (special mention of the amazing chemistry between Charles Laughton and his overbearing nurse, played with great cheek and determination by Elsa Lanchester) and intriguing plot.

The twists, turns and utter contortions of this simple case of murder keep you glued. Well, after all, it's Billy Wilder!

Se7en is a nerve-jangling thriller, evocatively shot by visionary director David Fincher, who crafts one of the most iconic films of the ‘90s.

It is impossible to deny the potency and artistry with which Fincher executes the material. Although very little of each murder is shown, the director expertly allows suggestion to lead the appalled viewer towards the truly cataclysmic climax. Fincher’s sepia-toned gloom successfully lends the film the knock-out punch it intends to. It plays out at an engaging pace destined to entrance you with it's abject horror. The film is as dark and brutal as a film can be, without showing much actual violence. Most of the stuff in the film is implied, but it’s so damn disturbing that you feel like you actually saw it… And that is the beauty of Se7en!

I could go on for hours about the delights of Ratatouille. The animation is superb, the vocals flawless, the script witty, the central dilemma between family ties and the pursuit of excellence subtly handled. Its jokes (all of them brilliant), its conflict (all of it rousing), its every move springs from this simple fact: Ratatouille has heart. Brad Bird gives us the most distasteful setup imaginable – Rats in the kitchen! Not only touching the food, but preparing it - and turns it around into something absolutely delectable.

Ratatouille is an intricate dish, infused with energetic and amusing storylines that are all fully cooked and complementary to the film's rich visual look. Bring your hardiest appetite. Ratatouille is immensely satisfying!

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a spectacle with the emotional charge of a thunderbolt on a canvas brushed with master strokes. With authority and disarming creative propensity, Peter Jackson is the creator of illusions borne from J.R.R. Tolkien's epic novel. The result is a marvellous journey in the magical land of Middle-Earth, where gentle hobbits, noble elves, powerful wizards and humans meld with trolls, misshapen orcs, black-cloaked ringwraiths and Uruk-Hai.

Cinematically inspiring, the costume, production design, prosthetic body parts and make up are extraordinary in their detail, complete in every way. Taking us on a magic carpet ride and fulfilling every dream of our imagination, it's an inspiring, stimulating, thrilling, terrifying, exciting and wondrous adventure that is totally unforgettable.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is an awesome spectacle that seamlessly integrates breathtaking visual and computer generated effects with its central story that even the smallest person can change the course of the world.

It is a worthy continuation to the first film, and while we are once again dazzled by the complexity of Jackson’s vision, we are never overwhelmed by the vastness of scale, which only complements its integral heart. Peter Jackson changes cinematic history with what is not merely a great adaptation of a work of literature, but a real creative elaboration of it in a way that only moving pictures and music and soundscapes can elaborate on words.

The Two Towers is a dazzling adrenalin fantasy rush.

With The Return of the King, Peter Jackson does author J.R.R. Tolkien proud by turning his tome into a film epic by which all future film epics will be judged. This one pops your eyes, excites your senses and brings you in as close as a whisper for scenes of startling emotion.

The themes of honour and nobility of spirit, of decency and loyalty are carried through the extended adventures and are the prime drivers of the film. Sure, it's jaw-dropping spectacle and unparalleled ambition realised on screen, but it's more than that. It's a fitting end to the journey. The Rings trilogy is more than a movie. It's a colossus on the march into screen legend.

It's old hat to call a movie an "emotional thrill ride," but in Inside Out, it's literally true, as the abstract concepts of our minds prove to be the perfect playground for the Pixar pixelators.

The film is, literally and figuratively, an emotionally driven masterpiece. Emotions run wildly funny in this exceedingly original story. But what's most brilliant about the luminously beautiful Inside Out, is how director Pete Docter not only connects beautifully to those emotions but turns them into his characters. Working with a multi-layered story, dazzling conceptual design, and the same gorgeous animation that we have come to expect, Inside Out comes with a surprising amount of depth, resulting in a film that is not only delightfully entertaining, but also thought-provoking and very much emotionally-complex.

There’s not really any other way to say it: it’s quite simply a masterpiece.

City of God is an arresting and unmissable cinematic triumph, peopled with affecting characters that avoid cliche, and a familiar story signposted with brutally shocking punctuation.

In a film of battering audacity, no shock hits harder than the way that director Fernando Meirelles choreographs murder to a dance beat, an exuberant form of kiddie recreation. Meirelles is a world-class talent who illuminates every frame of this fresh, ferocious and indelibly moving film that moves at whiplash velocity thanks to a terse script. City of God has the scent of a classic!

‘Mass’ - Fran Kranz’s meditative chamber piece, is a sober and gut-wrenching piece of filmmaking, built around an intensely emotional dialogue of grief, regret and maybe catharsis, as performed brilliantly by a quartet of actors.

In a master stroke of genius, Kranz keeps his cards close to the chest, not revealing what the meeting is about until we are well into the film. And in a film so sparse on setting and character, it’s a nice little technique that tees us up for the emotional maelstrom that is to come. The beauty of this slow burn revelation comes from how organically it all plays out in Kranz’s whip-smart and intricately detailed script.

And in the conversation that ensues — as the point of their encounter becomes clearer — what begins as an impressive exercise in acting and character development assumes the contours of something far more seismic and emotionally shattering. Sorting through the debris of madness: ‘Mass’ crafts a spiritually enlightening meditation on grief.

In its outlines, it's nothing like the usual success story, in which, after a reasonable interval of disappointment, success arrives wrapped in a ribbon and a bow. Instead, this success story chronicles a series of soul-sickening failures and defeats and missed opportunities, all of which are accompanied by a concomitant accretion of barely perceptible victories that gradually amount to something.

The Pursuit of Happyness is a go-for-the-gold heart-warmer affirming that anyone can pull himself up by the bootstraps and make something of himself. Smith plays Gardener with such wry, resigned matter-of-factness that you cant help but root for him. In other words, it all feels real!

Sin, shots, and strippers - It's hard to bring something new to this setup and get too creative with it But it is within such complicated comedic realities that Todd Phillips tackles The Hangover, and he delivers big time. Uproariously funny, this pre-marriage road trip turns the events of one night of drunken debauchery into the stuff of movie myth -- and you can't help but laugh all the way through.

There are so many moments to savour; it never feels like a series of skits, but an unravelling in which we all participate. Here is a movie that deserves every letter of its R rating.

Changeling, a riveting true crime story set in Los Angeles in 1928, is proof of Clint Eastwood's sure touch and emotional acuity as a director on powerful display. It's a mesmerizing human drama that pulls us in, to the haunting strains of Eastwood's resonant score.

Jolie plays Christine Collins like a gathering storm, moving from terror to a fierce resolve. And Eastwood, at the peak of his artful powers, tightens the screws of suspense without ever forgetting where the heart of his film lies. Lesser hands might let the story sink into teary sentiment. All in all, a devastating and touching story, beautifully told by a filmmaker still at the top of his game. A failure that’s more involving than most successes!