What's Your Favourite Movie?

Everyone loves a list. And asking someone what kind of movies they like is a great way of getting a sense of what that person is all about. So, given that most of you don't know me at all, I thought I'd combine the two and write a list of some of my favourite movies so you can get to know me a little bit.

I'm not trying to claim that all these films would be considered classics by critics, nor that they would necessarily appear on lists of the greatest movies of all time, but each and every one of them are films that I love, that have meant something to me at some point in my life and are movies that I have rewatched many times over the years. Such is the beauty of cinema, if I revisited this post in a couple of months I may well come up with several different candidates for the final cut.

Spoiler alert, you won't see many mindless action 'thriller' movies on my list, nor will many of them feature gun-toting old men jumping out of aeroplanes. In general I want to be entertained without needing earplugs. I want to be transported to other worlds, occasionally scared senseless, made to laugh, made to cry, made to think, sometimes just made to feel gooey.

I'd love to know what you think of my choices, and I'd love to hear what your favourite movies are. Please leave me a message, let me know.

So, without further ado, and in no particular order, here is the list of my favourite movies of all time.

Jaws (1975, directed by Steven Spielberg)

Der-Duh. How many movie soundtracks are completely unmistakeable from just two musical notes?

I was eight when Jaws made it to the UK. It immediately became a bit of a phenomenon. The movie poster featuring the great white shark about to devour the female swimmer was everywhere, there were t-shirts, ice creams, rubber bath toys. A few months later we went to Cornwall for our summer holiday, just as we had done for the previous few years. Only that summer things were different. The beaches were full but hardly anyone went in the sea. Those that did didn't venture too far out, and came scrambling back to dry land each time some prankster with a plastic shark's fin strapped to his back snorkelled through them.

The film has its gruesome moments, considering it got a certification in the UK which meant anyone over the age of five could go and watch it without an adult. Right from the outset there was blood, screaming and dismembered body parts. But it's much more than a glorified horror B-movie. There are plenty of great subplots - the greed-over-safety attitude of the town Mayor resonates even today, and the difficult relationships that each of the three main characters have with their families and with each other run deep through the film - so much so that it doesn't really matter that the shark itself looks decidedly clunky when judged through 21st century eyes.

Why is Jaws on my list? It's the first blockbuster movie I remember as a child. One of the main actors (Robert Shaw) was born a stone's throw from where I live. The iconic advertising poster. The famous 'You're gonna need a bigger boat' line. The two-note warning that the shark is on its way. Jaws is the perfect crossover thriller/horror movie.

Kes (1969, directed by Ken Loach)

Kes is a very British coming of age movie dealing with class issues and educational opportunities for poor, northern families. If you are reading this from outside the UK you have probably never heard of the film (difficulty in understanding the strong Yorkshire accents of the characters meant that it didn't fare well in the United States or Europe) but I would urge you to give it a watch, maybe with subtitles if necessary.

I can't remember for sure when I first saw Kes, I would have been somewhere in my early teens I imagine, but I know that I would have felt empathy with the main character Billy as he struggled his way through his young life. To be clear, in reality any similarities are very fleeting - I did come from a very modest background, but I grew up in a loving and secure family, didn't want for anything really, and also had the good fortune to attend a very good school, unlike Billy.

You want to root for Billy throughout the film. He's not perfect, but he's treated terribly at times. He's bullied and abused and given no hope of ever achieving anything by everyone around him, and yet his relationship with the film's eponymous kestrel shows that you can have value in life even if academics aren't your strongest suit. The film veers from moments of comedy - the school sports' teacher pretending to be Bobby Charlton whilst not giving the boys a chance in the football scene - to outright tragedy - the film's ending will bring even the most stoic to tears.

Watching the movie as an adult, I appreciated much more some of the political commentary that the director Ken Loach was making. I think he's a brilliant film maker with a superb back catalogue of work and a great social conscience. The performance of David Bradley (as Billy) in the film is amazing considering he had never acted before he got the role.

Overall, it's a great film with messages of both hope and despair in equal measures.

The Adjustment Bureau (2011, directed by George Nolfi)

I'm not sure if 'science fiction romantic thriller' is actually an official genre of movie, but if it is then this film would be the flag bearer.

The film is based on a 1950s sci-fi novel by Philip K. Dick, and is basically the story of two people who meet by accident and clearly have a spark between them being kept apart by mysterious quasi-religious forces who control all our actions and have in their eyes a higher purpose for both of them.

The plot gets a bit far-fetched at times - watch out for anyone with a hat on, only turn door handles to the right (or is it left?), get on a boat if you don't want The Chairman to know what you're up to, behave or you'll get your brain erased - but it always just stays the right side of daft.

I love this movie partially because I think the actors are great - Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Anthony Mackie are all superb - but also because all through the film (which spans a period of about five years) I'm rooting for the two main characters to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles and find love with each other.

I think Matt Damon has made some great films (Good Will Hunting, The Talented Mr Ripley, Interstellar, The Martian..), Emily Blunt also (Sunshine Cleaning, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Girl on the Train..), but The Adjustment Bureau really works because of their chemistry together.

Paddington 2 (2018, directed by Paul King)

What a fabulous, funny film this is. There's something for everybody in there, from slapstick humour for the grandchildren to clever jokes for the grandparents. Hugh Grant is brilliant as the villain of the proceedings Phoenix Buchanan, whilst characters such as Knuckles McGinty and Barry the Security Guard deliver a non stop feast of visual gags and one liners. The first Paddington film a couple of years beforehand was great, but this one really cranks everything up a notch. The scene where Paddington first meets Knuckles in the prison canteen - 'Forget the medic, better send a priest..' - is an absolute joy.

It's another movie with a very British flavour about it. It's set around London, with all the usual nods to that city appearing in the background of scenes, but it's completely accessible for anyone of any age, anywhere around the world.

If you dig a little deeper into the plot there is plenty of clever social commentary, touching on topics such as xenophobia and distrust of anything or anyone different than the norm (another of my all time favourite children's movies, The Iron Giant, does the same), but this doesn't ever distract from the story or lessen the enjoyment you get from watching the film.

Speaking as a parent who has endured many, many hours of terrible children's television and movies, I can honestly say I would steal someone's kids just to take them to the cinema and watch Paddington 3 whenever that finally gets made, as surely it will.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006, directed by Guillermo del Toro)

Of all the movies I'm commenting on in this blog, Pan's Labyrinth is without doubt the hardest one to give any kind of accurate description to. Each time I watch it I am filled with equal amounts of astonishment, heartbreak, awe and wonder.

Written and directed by the brilliant Guillermo del Toro (who other credits include The Devil's Backbone, the Hellboy films, Crimson Peak, and The Shape Of Water), the film intertwines themes of fantasy, fairy tales and mythology in a Francoist post-Spanish Civil War setting.

The movie's main character, Ofelia, in an attempt to return to the underworld from where she has been reincarnated into the real world, works her way through a number of tasks with the assistance of some fantastical creatures. All the time she has to battle against the forces of fascism, personified by her stepfather Captain Vidal.

There are elements of Alice in Wonderland in the film, but this is a much more adult story that leaves you shaken by the end. Del Toro is an amazing film maker and I think this is his best work, the young actor who plays Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is superb, and the CGI and animatronics used to create the creatures is breathtaking.

I can't recommend this film enough. If you haven't seen it you are missing something very special.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986, directed by John Hughes)

As a teenage lad growing up in the UK in the 1980s there were a number of films that made a huge impression on me, and which I still love to revisit occasionally today. Lots of them were set in the USA, often in American high schools featuring American students (who were just WAY cooler and better looking than me or anyone I'd been to school with), and quite a lot of them were written and/or directed by someone called John Hughes. In those pre-internet days Hughes was a mysterious genius who brought us films such as The Breakfast Club (every teenager could identify with at least one of the main characters), Uncle Buck (John Candy, say no more), Weird Science (omg Kelly LeBrock), Pretty in Pink (maybe the ultimate teenage angst movie) and Home Alone (the good one), but for me Ferris Bueller's Day Off is his magnum opus.

It's an absolute riot of a movie, chronicling the eponymous hero's escapades as he bunks off school for yet another day with a fake illness. He fools his parents but not his sister Jeanie, who in a spoiler alert somewhat surprising volte-face comes to his rescue near the end of the film. He persuades his best friend Cameron and his girlfriend Sloane to join him for the day (famously in Cameron's father's Ferrari), and they get up to all sorts of adventures in and around Chicago. In the meantime the school Dean, Mr Rooney, becomes suspicious and attempts to catch Ferris and expose his truancy. Much chaos ensues, especially for Rooney. Matthew Broderick as Ferris interacts with the viewer at various points during the film, which somehow only adds to his endearing cheekiness.

Underlying all the frivolity throughout the film, Ferris helps to get Cameron to understand and get over his anxiety and insecurities, through his own laid back approach. 'Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.' I would be prepared to say that just about every teenage boy in 1986 wanted to be Ferris Bueller for at least a day - I certainly did.

The Thing (1982, directed by John Carpenter)

Perhaps my favourite sci-fi/horror movie of all time, even though it isn't particularly liked by most critics. I love the old black and white science fiction and horror films from the 1950s - I'm thinking of films like The Creature From The Black Lagoon (The Shape Of Water is a modern remake of this film series), Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, This Island Earth, It Came From Outer Space, and many others - and one of my absolute favourites is The Thing From Another World, made in 1951. John Carpenter's The Thing, from 1982, is a remake of that movie (and a novella that inspired the original).

A deep-frozen alien is thawed out and runs amok at a Norwegian Antarctic base before heading over to an American research base nearby. The suspense is heightened because the alien can adopt different appearances by assimilating itself into other organisms, so as you watch the film you aren't ever sure if the 'human' characters are actually human or not. One by one the people (and animals) on the base are taken over by the 'Thing', until only two men, MacReady and Childs, remain alive and uncontaminated (or do they??).

There is a superb musical score from Ennio Morricone, with the signature sound of the 'Thing' itself being a simple two note tune reminiscent of Jaws. The scene where everyone has samples of their blood tested is genuinely tense and scary. The setting is pretty bleak, which just adds to the overall desperation of the situation.

There was a prequel film made in 2011 explaining how the alien was first discovered and taken to the Norwegian base, that is also a great film.

I am responsible for one of the worst examples of parenting ever when I put this film on and watched it with my eldest son (who I think was around 10 at the time). I remember him being very quiet, and then not sleeping much for a couple of nights. He's 25 now and still mentions it occasionally.

North By Northwest (1959, directed by Alfred Hitchcock)

Alfred Hitchcock is THE master of film directing and making. All of us have surely seen a Hitchcock film, or at least are aware of the famous scenes from Hitchcock films.

I don't think I appreciated just how good Alfred Hitchcock was until some point in my adult life. He used framing, camera angles and movement in a distinctive way which led the audience to feel like they were almost snooping on the characters in his movies. Many film directors have tried to mimic him since, and very few have done it well. The list of great Hitchcock movies is a long one - Rebecca, Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder, Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The 39 Steps, Spellbound, to name only a few - but for me North by Northwest is his best.

Cary Grant plays, well, Cary Grant really. He would have made a great James Bond if the films had began 10 years earlier. Eva Marie Saint and James Mason are superb. It's a classic Hitchcock plot featuring mistaken identity, espionage, suspense, sliding door moments, and a sprinkling of comedy. It bounces along, keeps you gripped, and is visually stunning. If you're looking for something to watch on a Sunday morning, curled up on the sofa with a bacon butty and a mug of coffee, then you can't do better than this film.

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977, directed by George Lucas)

Where to start with the Star Wars series? It's probably the biggest film franchise in history, with nine main movies, multiple spin-off films, associated television and streaming series, and countless Star Wars merchandising, all spread over almost 50 Earth years. Let's be honest, you've gone to a fancy dress party dressed as Chewbacca, haven't you? You've bought hundreds of plastic lightsabers (for your children, honestly..) and swooshed your way around the living room, knocking the odd ornament off its perch.

For me, it all starts here, with the original Star Wars film, released in 1977 when I was 10 years old. Those original main characters (both good and evil) stayed with us through The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). My early teenage years were coloured and influenced by tales of space travel, science fiction and outer space thanks to Star Wars, Star Trek and films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). That fascination has stayed with me throughout my life.

The plot for the original Star Wars film is at the same time simple and complex. At its heart it's a western set in the stars, with gunslingers and outcasts coming together to try to rid the universe of the bad guys. The genius that is George Lucas built in intricate back stories for nearly all the characters, along with a narrative for the story as a whole that extended out both into the past and the future. The special effects don't look too dated even when watched through 21st century eyes, and the X-wing fighter would still be my starfighter of choice should I ever get involved in an intergalactic battle. I would probably also change my name to Wedge.

I count myself very lucky to have seen the entire series of films at their original times of release, even if that isn't the way that it's recommended to watch them now. Both my children (now grown up) love the entire Star Wars franchise. They grew up with the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy respectively, and have different favourite films and characters within the series than I do. That's the beauty of Star Wars though (Disney aren't fools, even if they are slowly milking the franchise dry), generations of people love the story.

A Cheesy Christmas Romance Movie (probably from the Hallmark channel)

OK, I've cheated here and gone for a whole genre. I love a decent rom-com, but my ultimate guilty pleasure to have on in the background whilst working is a cheesy romance film, preferably set around Christmas sometime.

My ideal film will feature someone who grew up in a small town, but has become a big shot in the city, returning home to sell or close down a struggling local bakery or ski lodge and turn it into some luxury apartments. They will meet an old flame, and discover that the aforementioned old flame now runs the bakery/ski lodge. There will be tension and mistrust, and when the weather takes a turn for the worse and everyone is snowed in together for a week it should be a disaster. But.. during that time the city big shot realises that he/she still loves their old town (and maybe their old flame too..), sees that the bakery/ski lodge can still be made to work, quits their job with the property developer and throws everything into turning the bakery/ski lodge around. All goes swimmingly, love blooms, the business booms, until about 20 minutes from the end of the film the city big shot's boyfriend/girlfriend turns up in the small town (and city big shot hasn't mentioned him/her to old flame before he/she showed up). There's anger, confusion and tears. Petals fall from the blossoming love affair, the bakery/ski lodge goes back up for sale, city big shot leaves town without having a chance to explain properly. But.. wait.. it's all a misunderstanding! The boyfriend/girlfriend wasn't actually with city big shot any more, their love had long since faded and they were just returning a few albums and a random pair of socks before leaving for good. Everything gets explained and sorted out, and they live happily ever after, selling cakes or renting snowboards.

I've noticed that everyone in these films is able to drink a takeaway coffee (or hot chocolate with marshmallows) immediately after they buy it without suffering third degree burns in their mouth, and is also able to carry said drink extremely casually without spilling it everywhere. The movies set around Christmastime have more than their fair share of snow, candy canes, red and green clothing, and choirs of carol singers. But I don't have to engage my brain to watch them, and they make me feel good, even in June, so I don't mind.

What do you think ?

There you have it. 10 movies I have loved watching throughout my life. There are so many more that just missed the list. I've mentioned 2001, Close Encounters, The Shape of Water, The Martian, The Iron Giant, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Breakfast Club, Rear Window, Vertigo, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, but there is also Draft Day, Moneyball, The Right Stuff, Hidden Figures, (the original) The Wicker Man, Arrival, It's a Wonderful Life, We Are Marshall, and many more.

I'd love to know if you've watched any of my list of favourites, and if you did, what you thought of them. And I'd love to get some recommendations of movies that I should watch and maybe haven't yet. What are your favourites? Please drop me a comment or leave a message. Thanks for reading this!