I love movies, possibly a little too much I find it borderline impossible to make it through an entire film without consulting IMDB at least once or twice. I’m the one that watches a film and can’t relax until I’ve worked out ‘where I’ve seen him before?' For some reason My brain finds it difficult to retain useful information like what my plans are for next Thursday or what safe place I put my passport the last time I used it, but I can probably tell you who that actor is what I know them from and what you’ve most likely seen them in even if I haven’t seen it myself. I love reading about films, watching actors press junkets, any behind the scenes stories and random trivia. I find it fascinating learning how different actors work, whether they love or hate their co-stars or directors. Finding little Easter eggs or moments of indulgence hidden within scenes by writers or directors.

I have often found myself working my way through a certain actor or director’s filmography spotting the patterns or similarities be that eating in almost every scene they’re in, I’m talking to you Brad Pitt (Oceans 11 is the worst for it) or an affinity for certain actors *cough* Tim Burton *cough*.

It is safe to say I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to films. That being said I feel I can’t claim supreme movie nerd status having not seen so many of the so called ‘Classics’ that are considered compulsory viewing for any film fanatic. I might have to make a list of all the ones I haven seen and earn my badges as it were.

But first I’m going to count down my top ten favourites. It’s been difficult to narrow it down. I will say I don’t for one second believe that all these films are ‘the best ever’ but they are ten of the films I can watch over and over again and they still have the power to make me laugh or cry.

10. Peter Pan 2003

When I was younger I used to drive my Mum and Dad round the bend watching the Disney Peter Pan over and over and over again, I was obsessed. Who actually wants to grow up and be an adult? Not Me. Second star on the right and straight on till morning please. When the live action version came along in 2003 it was like all my dreams had come true. He was real and so was Neverland it was perfect. I’m fairly certain it did not leave my DVD player for a good few years. I even watched the special features almost as much as the film itself.

Jeremy Sumpter was perfect casting in my opinion to bring the mischievous forever child to life. He was able to depict the darker side to Pan that the Disney version avoided. He was forgetful, petulant and stubborn and Sumpter encapsulated all of it. It was great to see an adaptation that was faithful to J M Barrie’s original fairy tale.

9. Kick Ass 2010

Slight change of pace for the next film…

Back in 2010 I was just 15 years old and my friends and I were suckers for a trip to the cinema followed by a ‘cheeky Nandos’. It was a rite of passage. Posters for Kick Ass were everywhere we looked and featured everyone’s favourite Stiff Dylan Aaron Johnson, so of course it was a must see. Passports in hands off we went. (the lengths you had to go to as a fifteen-year-old just to watch a film)

This twist on a classic super hero movie is hilarious, violent, gruesome, foul-mouthed and relatable all at once. I was drawn in by the witty script, self-referential humour and winks to camera throughout, Something, I found out later Director Matthew Vaughn is well known for. It also has a brilliant cast Mark Strong is incredible and I was shocked to find out he was a native Brit following my mandatory IMDB session after seeing a movie. Chloe Moretz is the ultimate badass throughout and Nicholas Cage’s unnerving weirdness works perfectly for the tone of this movie (something I won’t get the luxury of saying often). I find myself going back to this one a lot and smile with glee when I get to introduce it someone new.

Warning! Sequel was an absolute train-wreck! I would advise avoidance at all costs.

8. Wanted 2008

This one I watched purely because I’m a huge fan of James McAvoy and I am pleased to say I do not regret it one bit.

Wanted is another adaptation of a Mark Miller comic, I’m obviously a fan of his work without even realising, it has a similar style using witty narration and a healthy peppering of 4th wall breaks. Wanted opens with unlikely hero Wesley Gibson amid a fight club-esque existential crisis. Enter Fox (Angelina Jolie) and the action comes thick, fast and down- right ridiculous as Wesley is introduced to the bullet bending Fraternity of Assassins and their leader Sloane (Morgan Freeman). We get to watch as Wesley goes from wet-wipe to Master Assassin and get his own back on his cheating girlfriend, nightmare boss and terrible excuse for a best friend.

The dubious nature of the Loom of Fate aside, this film ticks all the boxes an action movie should, plenty of edge of your seat action, with stunts Tom Cruise wishes he’d done first, a training montage, obviously, and plenty of twists and turns along the way. No Spoilers

7. Sherlock Holmes 2009

As I work my way through this list I’m realising I’m a sucker for an action movie. This one I went to see with my Dad one weekend probably when there was no football on he said to me ‘Have a look what on at the pictures Jen.’ This time we were lucky, we have done this before and seen some stinkers in the past. I’m talking about you Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Guy Ritchie was at the reigns of the latest adaptation of the Arthur Conan Doyle character. Just a year before Cumberbatch and Freeman brought us the BBC series, Holmes was in the hands of Robert Downey Jr, after making his acting comeback in Ironman in 2008, accompanied by Jude Law.

I think the casting is brilliant as RDJ brings a brilliant charisma and edge to Holmes that we haven’t seen before in other adaptations. Jude Law excels Watson as he eyerolls he way through the latest pickle his complicated friend drags him into managing an air of both awe and distain for the brilliant detective. This depiction of the dynamic duo is definitely a little rougher round the edges than many would have anticipated but I suppose this is what Guy Ritchie brings to the table. The mysterious Cinemasins voiceover bloke on YouTube thinks the same as me ‘Here’s a Holmes and Watson that can physically and literally kick some ass and you didn’t know how badly you wanted them until you got them am I right?’ And guess who is back in the role of villain, its none other than Mark Strong as the power-hungry Lord Blackwood. It was here I realised I probably saw this one before Kick Ass considering their release date and did not notice it was the same guy! Take a bow Mark Strong you convinced me. Sherlock the TV series may have garnered more popularity than this one, but I think its brilliant. suppose it helps that a lot of it was filmed in Liverpool and every time I walk past the Bluecoat I think of the Movie’s opening sequence and it makes me smile.

6. Dead Poets Society 1989

This one has been described to me as a rite of passage, it’s a classic that gets referenced here there and everywhere. Robin Williams is the teacher that everyone wishes they had at school one that inspires, teaches you life lessons and has a healthy disregard for the establishment and the rules. I was lucky enough to have had a teacher that had so much passion for their subject they made me want to study History in university, if you had said that to My year 9 history teacher she probably would’ve wet herself because I spent most of my lunchtimes that year in her detentions because I either talked too much or never did any of the homework. I’m not saying this teacher would have had me standing on my desk proclaiming ‘Oh captain my captain’ but I think he was the next best thing. This is also one of the few films that was able to make me cry and cry I did, like a baby. Forget the notebook that’s child’s play Dead Poets Society It’s funny, poignant, inspiring and heart-breaking and an absolute Masterclass from the incredible Robin Williams. I absolutely love this film and I urge anyone who hasn’t seen it to watch it but have your tissues ready.

5. Good Will Hunting 1997

I was late to the party on this one, I watched this for the first time age 18 in a hotel room in Las Vegas my parents had planned an awesome trip along the West Coast of USA to see amazing things like the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Death Valley and of course Sin City but of course I was stuck with Cranberry Juice and Hotel Cable one evening as Mum and Dad attempted to hit the Jackpot in the Casinos. Silver Lining though, I discovered this cinematic gem.

Matt Damon plays rough around the edges Genius, that catches the eye of MIT professor when he solves an equation that had even his top students baffled. This is a brilliant example of a don’t judge a book by its cover story. Once again, Robin Williams plays the lovable mentor in the shape of Sean the Psychiatrist as he tries to crack Will’s hard shell and reluctance to excel.

This film is a brilliant feat from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck winning the Best Original Screenplay, as had begun writing the script at just 18 years old, as part of a college assignment. It is funny, romantic, touching and incredibly re-watchable. I could write for days about all the trivia that comes along with this film, but I’ll refrain.

4. Inception 2010

I suspect this film makes plenty of top ten lists for a million and one different reasons. For me this film is brilliant because of it’s originality. Yes, it is in essence a heist movie. However, the heist takes place inside someone’s subconscious? Director Christopher Nolan is no stranger to abstract concepts and complicates story lines, see Memento (2000) if you want to enjoy a head stretcher. Inception follows Cobb a dream thief in his quest to reunite with his children by doing ‘one more job’. Convince the heir to a huge fortune to completely dismantle his father’s empire. The team is assembled, a stellar cast as you might imagine with a Nolan film Di Caprio leading with the support of Michael Cain, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard and Tom Hardy. Many of whom either had worked or would work with Nolan on the Batman Trilogy. We watch as they begin the dangerous task of infiltrating a man’s subconscious while being attacked by its projections as well as the projection of Moll, Cobb’s volatile wife. Inception stitches together, the twists and turns of a psychological thriller, exciting action sequences, incredible locations, effects and cinematography to create an incredible movie that has you noticing more the more you watch as try and decipher whether or not the characters are still dreaming.

3. Singing in the Rain 1952

An all singing all dancing old Hollywood classic that to this day can change even the worst of my bad moods for the better. Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds take us behind the scenes at Hollywood as the pivotal first ever ‘talkie’ is released. Kelly is Don Lockwood king of the silver screen, His queen Jean Hagan’s Lina Lemont. The Emma Stone to his Ryan Gosling, the Jennifer Lawrence to his Bradley Cooper except they cant stand each other.

Watch as Lockwood and friends adjust to the switch from silent movies to ‘talkies’ while showing off their incredible dancing skills in the process. Everyone knows the iconic ‘singing in the rain’ sequence, spinning round lampposts, splashing through the puddles. We’ve all tried it when the dreary weather was getting us down, admit it. Iconic as it is it most definitely isn’t my favourite sequence in the film

I defy anyone to finish this film without having a smile on your face… if you do manage you’re a robot.

2. The Dark Knight 2008

Christopher Nolan’s second entry on this list is the second outing in his Batman Trilogy, which is widely considered the best of the three for very good reason. The opening scene alone is enough to make me want to put this in at 2nd. The reveal of Heath Ledger’s Joker still gives me goose- bumps despite having watched it far too many times than is socially acceptable. As expected from Nolan this is a carefully crafted masterpiece, continuing with the darker tone previously established in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight has your stomach tying itself in knots and your teeth on edge throughout as you watch Batman and the agent of chaos that is the Joker do the dance of good versus evil. This film became somewhat of a cultural phenomenon and a favourite among comic book enthusiast and those coming to it as just a movie. I fell into the later category. As a simple action flick the movie is brilliant with stolen cop cars, chases in the bat-mobile and motorcycle, audacious use of practical effects, plenty of explosions and brilliantly choreographed hand to hand combat scenes. However, this is not a simple action flick, it also manages to strike a balance between it’s newly established tone while leaving room for plenty of self-referential humour. The film is so quotable, from its early foreshadowing and unofficial tag line ‘you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.’ To the brilliant ‘Do I look like a guy with a plan?’.

I have so much love for this film I could sit here for days boring you about the behind the scenes morsels, overlapping internal themes, Joker origin theories but I’m not sure it wold ever end. Having said that I cannot talk about this film without mentioning Heath Ledger. The original release of this film was marred by the tragic death of Heath Ledger, the genius behind the Joker. He was a huge reason why this film is as good as it is. Plenty has been said about the role the Character played in Ledger’s untimely death and it is incredibly difficult to separate the two considering the lengths he went to embody the Joker and it shows on screen. While the entire cast delivered performances to be proud of Ledger’s turn as the Joker was nothing short of astonishing. The laugh alone is haunting and works perfectly to demonstrate him as a man who wants to watch the world burn. It was no surprise that this performance earned him a Posthumous best actor Oscar, and the first academy award given to anyone playing a super villain. He is sorely missed.

1. The Departed 2006

Last but certainly not least a Martin Scorsese masterclass in film-making. It follows two men as they join the Massachusetts State Police one, (Matt Damon) the conventional way as a mole for Frank Costello and the other (Leonardo DiCaprio) as an undercover agent as in Costello’s ranks and we watch as one tries to find the other. I’m finding this one really difficult to write about without just saying ‘Just go and watch it, its bloody brilliant.’ Because it is. From the opening credits to the closing credits its exciting, the audience having the upper hand on the characters lends itself to this excitement as each time one gets closer to the other the audience braces for a showdown at every close call. The cast is one only someone like Scorsese could attract (Di Caprio, Damon, Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin and Mark Walburg). Each and every one of them are delivering personal bests in my humble opinion anyway. Most notably Walburg as, personally if I see Walburg’s name on a cast list I’m often disappointed but here his supporting role as the foul-mouthed Dignam is a great one and it wouldn’t be the same without him. This is a film I will never tire of watching, incredible soundtrack, captivating performances, innovative cinematography and direction. It will surely take some beating.

I'm just going to leave this here...