My all-time favorite movie is an obscure British comedy called Millions. Believe me, that’s saying something, because for 30 years my all-time favorite was Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It sat there on its lofty throne for three decades until a little foreign comedy/drama knocked it down.
Millions is about a little British kid minding his own business in his back yard one day when about 225,000 pounds literally falls out of the sky. He has only a couple of weeks to blow it, however, because the pound is about to convert to the euro. Hijinx ensue.
The movie works on a multitude of levels. There’s a touching story about overcoming loss. There are philosophical questions about the nature of materialism. There’s the world as seen through the eys of a child. There’s… well, I don’t know what, but it’s there. If you decide to watch it, bring a hanky.
Natural Born Killers
Not only is this THE defining movie of the 90s (Oliver Stone at his peak directing an early Quenting Tarantino script), but it is my favourite movie of all time. It is the best example of organised chaos I have ever seen, and the raucous atmosphere really shines through. Everything about it was creatively brilliant, from the hundreds of songs mashed together providing the soundtrack, the editing innovations on par with Potemkin in its era, the insanely over-the-top performances (Robert Downey Jr, Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore are noteworthy, to say nothing of Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis), the film stock lessons that the cinematographer gives us, to the satire, which is still relevant today. There are so many quotable lines and hidden special moments that I never tire of watching it. The part that cinched it for me when I first watched it (spoiler) is at the end, when Mickey and Mallory are debating on whether they should ‘go out in a hail of bullets’, I (having enjoyed the movie trememdously up to that point) said to myself ‘if they do a Butch Cassidy and Sundance thing, I’m going to hate this movie’ – of course they didn’t mess it up and so this combination road/prison break/midnight cult movie remains my favourite of all time.
ps. To anyone else enamoured with this movie, I highly recommend the book “Killer Instinct”, which is by one of the producers about the whole experience. It is a wonderful insider’s look at filmmaking in general and that movie in particular which was very enjoyable.
**Snatch **- Favorite scene - In the car when Madonna’s song comes on the radio.
2nd fav - The bar scene describing shrivelling penis and balls.
**Trainspotting **- Best scene - The job interview. Overboard - Favorite line - “…a soprano child?..” Finding Forrester - Scene - When Forrester saves the day in the classroom. Remember the Titans - Best moment - The players dancing together. Babe - Favorite Moment - Dancing Farmer + “That’ll do pig…” Clueless - Favorite Line - …" I’m calling your mother!" (Dionne)