CAST
MICHAEL CAINE, SEAN CONNERY, CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER

DIRECTED BY
JOHN HUSTON

A unique movie experience, brilliantly brought to life by legendary director John Huston and starring the equally legendary duo of Michael Caine and Sean Connery, The Man Who Would Be King contains the type of old school, epic, and above all entertaining movie making that has sadly gone astray over the last few decades.

Featuring mesmerising locations, great cinematography, excellent set design and costume, hundreds of extras and a riveting screenplay by Huston and Gladys Hill, The Man Who Would Be King is a fun and wild adventure movie that focuses on two former British soldiers who set themselves up as deities in a faraway foreign land where old testament style customs still reign supreme. 

The chemistry between Caine and Connery is electric, with the charm and humour that both men possess shown in spades throughout the film. It is of much wonder as to why they never reunited, since they had the potential to be the UK equivalent of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Alas the pair had this one film, and what an excellent film it is.

CAST
FRANCOIS CLUZET, OMAR SY, AUDREY FLEUROT, ANNE LE NY, CLOTILDE MOLLET  

DIRECTED BY
OLIVIER NAKACHE, ERIC TOLEDANO

A worldwide box office hit with good reason, The Intouchables is the kind of feel-good movie where the quality matches the sentimentality.

As directed and written by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, this stirring true story of a quadriplegic aristocrat (Francoise Cluzet) hiring and befriending his live-in caregiver (Omar Sy) from the wrong side of the tracks, is one filled with electrifying chemistry between its leads, heartfelt emotion and an infectious sense of humour.

Above all it speaks to the power of friendship overcoming obstacles of class and race. Placed in another filmmakers hands such a premise could be disastrous. Yet Nakache and Toledano never let it be so, delivering a film of towering emotional power and equally fantastic performances.

CAST
TOM HANKS, TIM ALLEN, NED BEATTY, JOAN CUSACK, MICHAEL KEATON, DON RICKLES

DIRECTED BY
LEE UNKRICH

It takes a special movie to make grown men weep like babies, yet such is the power of Toy Story 3, another jewel in the crown of animation kings Pixar studios.

Essentially a prison escape caper, the film continues the adventures of Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang as they deal with saying goodbye to their college bound human playmate, while stuck in a day care centre run by a power mad teddy bear (Ned Beatty).

Following the exceptional Toy Story 2 some eleven years after was never going to be an easy task, yet Pixar pulled off the impossible and created a thrilling, funny, and immensely touching story about letting go and moving on, capping off what has to be one of the great trilogies to grace the silver screen.

CAST
RALPH FIENNES, F. MURRAY ABRAHAM, ADRIEN BRODY, WILLEM DAFOE, JEFF GOLDBLUM, JUDE LAW, EDWARD NORTON, SAOIRSE RONAN

DIRECTED BY
WES ANDERSON

Wes Anderson’s best work yet, Moonrise Kingdom displays a strong heart and offbeat spirit in this 1960s set film about conviction in youth, bitter adulthood and honour amongst scouts.

Set in the fictional remote community of New Penzance Island, the film focuses on the young love romance of spectacled Boy Scout Sam (Jared Gilman) and troubled Suzy (Kara Hayward). When they runaway together it’s up to sad sap police captain Sharp (Bruce Willis in excellent form), scout master Ward (Edward Norton) and Suzy’s parents Walt and Laura (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) to bring them back home while they deal with their own problems.

Filled with the usual Anderson traits of exceptional costume, set design and whimsical eccentricity, Moonrise Kingdom also has a genuine charm and big heart that is driver by Anderson’s love for his characters, and the love those characters have for one another.

CAST
JIM CARREY, NOAH EMMERICH, PAUL GIAMATTI, ED HARRIS, LAURA LINNEY, NATASCHA McELHONE

DIRECTED BY
PETER WEIR

Perhaps as prophetic a film as there is, The Truman Show opens on day number 10,909 in the life of Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey), a 30-year-old insurance salesman oblivious that his whole life has been on show for the adoring masses glued to their TV screens 24/7.

Yes, it is “Reality TV” that director Peter Weir and screenwriter Andrew Niccol are commenting about here…a year before the first Reality TV show “Big Brother” made its debut! Brilliant in its observations and satire, Niccol’s sharp, funny and poignant script also asks many strong theological and existential questions resulting in one of the best thinking man movies delivered from the Hollywood machine.

Masterfully crafted by Weir (who returned from a five-year absence), The Truman Show also features a revelatory performance from Jim Carrey who simply dazzles in his first dramatic role.  

CAST
HARVEY KEITEL, ROBERT DE NIRO, DAVID PROVAL, AMY ROBINSON, RICHARD ROMANUS

DIRECTED BY
MARTIN SCORSESE

Martin Scorsese’s first foray into urban crime storytelling, Mean Streets was an immensely personal project for the famed director with crime, religion and identity clashing to make a one of a kind gangster movie.

Harvey Keitel delivers a memorable leading turn as conflicted mobster Charlie, who is torn between his dedication as a practicing Catholic and his profession as a gangster. Yet it is Robert DeNiro who turns heads with his performance as the unpredictably dangerous Johnny Boy, setting the stage for a career filled with memorable performances especially under the direction of Martin Scorsese.

To be watched alone for DeNiro’s swaggering entrance to the sounds of the Rolling Stone’s “Jumpin Jack Flash”, this gritty and raw predecessor to Goodfellas is essential viewing for crime movie buffs and general lovers of cinema.

CAST
AL PACINO, SEAN PENN, PENELOPE ANN MILLER, JOHN LEGUIZAMO, INGRID ROGERS, LUIS GUZMAN

DIRECTED BY 
BRIAN DE PALMA

The reunion of Scarface pair Al Pacino and Brian De Palma resulted in a much less heralded yet overall better film, with Carlito’s Way a heartbreaking, stylish portrayal of ex-gangster Carlito Brigante (Pacino) trying to walk away from a life of crime only to get pulled back into an increasingly violent world at every turn.

Based on the novels by popular crime fiction author Edwin Torres, the film features one of the best turns in Pacino’s storied career, not to mention an unrecognizable, out of this world turn from Sean Penn as a shady lawyer with one bad perm.

Excellent set pieces (a thrilling shoot out at Grand Central Station is a hoot!) and haunting score by Patrick Doyle round out an exceptional neo-noir gangster film of little equal since its release.

CAST
MORGAN FREEMAN, BRAD PITT, R. LEE ERMEY, GWENYTH PALTROW, KEVIN SPACEY

DIRECTED BY
DAVID FINCHER

One of the best serial killer movies of all time and the greatest buddy cop movie of all time (think about it), Seven stars Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt as two mismatched detectives on the trail of a killer with a taste for the theatrical, and the works of Dante for inspiration.

Perhaps most important is that Seven gave us the first classic from master filmmaker David Fincher, who bounced back from the critically panned Alien 3 with a crime thriller that has seared the minds of film fans everywhere, with its intelligent mystery and soul crushing conclusion.

With an uncredited Kevin Spacey delivering chills as the murderous John Doe, and an ending to end all endings embedded in pop culture lore, Se7en is an undeniable masterwork of visual and thematic power.

CAST
JESSE EISENBERG, ANDREW GARFIELD, ARMIE HAMMER, RASHIDA JONES, ROONEY MARA, MAX MINGHELLA, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

DIRECTED BY
DAVID FINCHER

Featuring the combined talents of filmmaker David Fincher and scribe Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network is a slick biopic that delves into the birth of Facebook and the lives of its creators: angry young men with a need to belong, that would go on to change the social landscape of a whole generation. 

Initially scoffed at as “that Facebook movie”, The Social Network surprised many with its astute character study of young entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) who with his innovative social media hub not only changed the way we communicate (for better or worse), but also turned social media ventures into a billion-dollar industry.  

The fusion of Fincher’s digital sheen precision filmmaking, Sorkin’s rapidfire dialogue, and the undeniably infectious score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross created a biopic for its time that would no doubt be timeless. 

CAST
HENRY FONDA, LEE J. COBB, JACK WARDEN, ED BEGLEY, E.G. MARSHALL

DIRECTED BY
SIDNEY LUMET

As far as directorial debuts go, Sidney Lumet’s work on the influential 12 Angry Men is one of the best.

A stirring courtroom drama which looked at the ease in which man can slip into prejudice, 12 Angry Men focuses on twelve jurors debating the innocence of a teen accused of murdering his father. What erupts is a passionate debate that delves into justice, stereotype and discrimination, and doing so with a keen intelligence and absorbing drama.  

Henry Fonda provides the films moral centre as the juror who presses the need for more debate, Lee J. Cobb produces the heavy emotion as a man who must deal with his embedded prejudice, and Lumet captures it all to make thrilling, timeless cinema.