TOP 150 MOVIES

An incredible, epic biopic on the life and activism of one of the great peace activists of the 20th century, Gandhi’s gargantuan runtime is filled with strong performances and an even stronger sense of place and time.

Ben Kingsley famously, brilliantly portrays Mohandas Gandhi from his activist beginnings to his ascent as a national hero and leader of a nonviolent movement against British rule in India.

Director Richard Attenborough (A Bridge to Far) expertly navigates the audience through the many political and social issues of the time, but most importantly represents the spirit of a man who became the father of a nation.

A dream movie for many a comic book fan, The Avengers caps Marvel Studios’ “First Phase” of superhero movies to a one movie event that reaches its impossibly lofty ambition of becoming the superhero movie event of its time.

With Firefly creator Joss Whedon handling script and directing duties, every single 144 minutes of screen time delivers entertainment spectacle of the highest quality as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes take on the villainous Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and an army of extra-terrestrial invaders. 

Orchestrating a great balancing act, Whedon gives every character their chance to shine and perfectly blends action, sci-fi and wit. It is a term seldom used, but The Avengers could very well be the Star Wars of its new generation.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior is that rare sequel that not only matches its predecessor but leaves it lying in the dust while not succumbing to the trappings of conventional Hollywood filmmaking. 

Set in post-apocalyptic outback Australia, Mel Gibson reprises his breakthrough role of Max (Mel Gibson), a former police officer turned cynical loner, who agrees to help an oil-rich commune besieged by homicidal road bandits haul a tanker of fuel to a new location. Cue an incredible chase sequence, in which Max fends off all matter of unhinged and murderous road brutes and savages while driving a Mack semi.

The wide-open landscapes of Australia’s Broken Hill become a playground for all matter of vehicles as motorbikes, supped up V8’s, and dune buggies are transformed into death on wheels, director George Miller capturing all the vehicular violence and creating an exceptional action movie in the process.

The debut film from the Working Dog Productions team (among them writer and director Rob Sitch) marked not only the arrival of Australia’s best comedic film but also created a shift in Aussie lingo with its many one-liners  -“Tell ‘em their dreaming”, “Love the serenity” - thrown about with many a chuckle.

The Castle tells the story of Daryl Kerrigan (Michael Caton) a proud family man who takes on the government when they forcefully try to take his home situated right next to Melbourne airport.

With a cracking script, brilliant performances and its beautifully portrayed message about the lengths a man will go to protect his home and the family within, The Castle is heartfelt and extremely funny.  

It is indeed a special film which can convince its viewers of pining sympathy upon the fate of a crew of Nazi's submariners.

Yet Wolfgang Peterson's 1982 war thriller Das Boot does just that, turning the tables of war film conventions by presenting the other side of the WWII conflict without resorting to goose stepping stereotype in the portrayal of its protagonists.

Based on historic events, Peterson's ultra-realistic depiction of life inside a German U-Boat both dazzles and draws his viewers into this claustrophobic world filled with chaos, banality, and bad hygiene, as a crew of raw recruits led by a cynical captain (Jurgen Prochnow) must contend with British naval superiority and the inept command of the Nazi brass.

The brainchild of producer Steven Spielberg and director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump), Back to the Future endures not only as a pop culture icon but a great sci-fi adventure.

Its engrossing and entertaining story centres on prideful teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) who travels back to 1955 in a time travelling DeLorean created by wacky scientist Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and inadvertently prevents his parents from getting together, thus placing his own existence in jeopardy.    

High stakes are placed on McFly’s time travelling escapades with every action on his part garnering a reaction (as seen in its two sequels), yet Zemeckis fills the drama with infectious fun and spirit. Then there are the performances by Fox, Crispin Glover at his eccentric best and Christopher Lloyd as everyone’s favourite mad scientist. ‘80s sci-fi adventure at its best.

The best film from horror maestro John Carpenter (Halloween), The Thing is a dark, edgy monster movie that expertly combines sci-fi thrills with gross-out horror, the effects work of Rob Bottin a masterpiece in practical effects wizardry.

Carpenter stalwart Kurt Russell stars as one of several American personnel trapped in an Antarctic military base station, where an unearthed alien literally rips through, consumes and impersonates them. The constant uncertainty over who can be trusted turns every scene into a test of paranoia.

The line “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” still stands as one of the best uttered in horror cinema. Carpenter’s tight control of atmosphere and the film’s refusal to offer easy answers keep the dread alive long after the credits.

Ambitious in size and passionate in delivery, Taylor Hackford’s Blood In Blood Out is epic tale of three related Chicano gangsters separated by tragic circumstance; skilfully juggling several sub-genres – prison movie; police investigator; urban drama – while providing memorable Chicano gangster dialogue.    

Starring Benjamin Bratt, Damian Chappa, and Jesse Borrego, Blood In Blood Out is gangster soap opera at its best with all three leads delivering spirited performances that engross throughout its epic 3-hour runtime.

Filled to the brim with memorable characters and with many stakes at play with every character twist, Blood In Blood Out is the ultimate Chicano gangster movie. Vatos Locos forever!

The Empire Strikes Back of animated films, Toy Story 2 took the successful template of the groundbreaking original and heightened it with more adventure and more emotion.

Where the first film focused on the competition between Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Toy Story 2 looks at toys as an asset to be collected, evaluated, and bought for the highest bidder. When Woody is stolen by a greedy toy collector (Wayne knight), Buzz and co. give chase and in the process, as Pixar reach creative highs in animated family adventure.

Comedy brilliantly meshes with thrilling action sequences, with special mention to one such scene involving a group of toys, witches’ hats, and a busy city street that will have viewers chomping on their nails while laughing hysterically.

8 ½ is a marvellous and immensely personal piece of self-analysis, that journeys into the heart, mind and soul of its illustrious director, Frederico Fellini (La Dolce Vita.)

This semi-biographical magnum opus stars Marcello Mastroianni as Guido Anselmi, a world-famous Italian writer/director who has reached the crossroads in his artistic and personal lives, as crippling directors block threatens to tear down his world, leading to a retreat into the surreal.

Essentially a film about a director who is making a film about his personal life (as directed by a man making a film about his personal life), 8 ½ pushes the boundaries of surrealistic cinema, constantly switching back and forth between reality and fantasy to enchanting and masterful results.