"Cassastar" has organized a DIRTY DOZEN blogfest, and my task is to reveal the twelve movies I love the most. So, here we go, films which won my heart and respect either by being profound and enlightening, by spreading magic or by showing groundbreaking creativity and beauty:MOULIN ROUGE - the breathtaking, groundbreaking, positively captivating and deeply enchanting parade of stunning talent, creativity and love. I love everything in it - the story, the acting (especially Ewan McGregor and Jim Broadbent), the sets, the costumes, the spectacular songs and magical mix of cult pop songs and cabaret. Baz Luhrmann a master genius.
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE - larger than life, magnificent, jaw-dropping, spectacular epic with at least 10 almost legendary scenes to remember as the real gems in the cinematic history. And the outstanding, surreal, majestic performance of Cate Blanchett - "Woman. Warrior. Queen" - Cate not Elizabeth :) Shekhar Kapur a master genius.
THE MUMMY - my favourite "fun movie", a movie which reminds me of the golden years of cinema when movies were made out of dreams and fantasy. As one of my dear friends, Answer, once said "The Mummy" is one of those adventure films that will forever stand the test of time and go down in history as the greatest films of their genre. Flawless story, flawless acting, flawless chemistry, director Stephen Sommers paying attention to all possible details - twists, action, sets, unforgettable supporting roles, dialogues, jokes ... The epitome of true cinematic magic.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS - as a great dreamer I had been waiting for a huge fantasy epic almost all my life and then Peter Jackson fulfilled my wishes. An epic which comes to life maybe once in every 20 years, and a whole new world with mesmerizing sets, costumes, beings and creatures, nations and towns, fortresses and warriors. THE TWO TOWERS would be my favourite part, and Cate Blanchett as Galadriel and Karl Urban as Eomer, my favourite characters.
MURIEL'S WEDDING - deeply catharsic drama with hilarious moments and stirring insights into social alienation. Toni Collette in her first, groundbreaking role of a girl who didn't fit in so she learned how to stand out, and went up while being buried deep down. And all that seasoned with the irresistible hits from ABBA, because everyone can be a DANCING QUEEN or a king and TAKE IT ALL like a WINNER if you just TAKE A CHANCE:)
THE READER - Kate Winslet showing why we consider her one of the best living actresses. The haunting, enlightening and deeply disturbing drama which shows that nothing is black and white and that there are reasons and causes behind everything. The movie about the truth which humanity isn't yet prepared to accept, and one of the very few films which left me speechless with so much to say.
LITTLE CHILDREN - as you already know, what I value most are satires dealing with deep social issues, movies which reveal the real problems of modern society in all their shocking authenticity. The film about weaknesses, vulnerabilities and temptations, about struggles of living in this vast ocean called world, which can drown you if you don't know how to swim. Stunning performances from Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson.
THE FOUNTAIN - Deeply touching story of a man's quest for the fountain of youth in order to save his love from the clutches of death. I've never seen such an awe-striking cinematic tale with profound story and astounding visuals in which present meets past, love fights death in the helpless war against time. Hugh Jackman's best role ever, and sensual Rachel Weisz in a film for the empathic intuitive viewers ready to understand its depths and messages.
THE FALL - everyone knows how much I love director Tarsem Singh's visual creativity and his talent to explore dreams and fantasy. This is a truly mesmerizing story of a little girl who appears as a blessing in disguise while being an inspiration to the most wonderful storytelling cinema has ever seen. I must add I'm very honored to be a friend with the casting director of this movie and little Catinca Utaru's (the main actress in the film) mother as well. One of the visually most striking movies of all times.
DOGVILLE - a very bold, ironical and intelligent satire criticizing the modern American establishment and political system while telling the story of the suppression, aggressive hypocrisy and brutality in a little American town. The movie has no sets which makes you focus on the main characters and their slow moral downfall. Breathtaking performances from Paul Bettany, Nicole Kidman, Laurel Bacall, Patricia Clarkson, Jeremy Davies... Like THE READER, this is also one of the few movies that left me totally speechless.
SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE - now being a great fan of love, cooking and magic it's quite natural I would get totally enchanted by this romantic story which blends love, food and magic while teaching us how love shouldn't be a habit or an obligation, but something spellbinding, something that puts magic into our hearts, something that makes our reality look like a dream. Positively adorable performances from Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sean Patrick Flanery.
THE LION IN WINTER (2003) - I don't think I've ever seen a film in which all the actors in it had absolutely flawless, convincing, remarkable and truly amazing performances like in this historical saga about king Henry II (Patrick Stewart), queen Eleanor (Glenn Close), their sons Richard the Lionheart (Andrew Howard), Geoffrey (John Light) and John (Rafe Spall), and Richard's forbidden gay love who happens to be a king of France and his father's enemy at the same time (Jonathan Rhys Meyers).
Beside these movies, I must also mention some other stunning dramas - CRASH, HEAVENLY CREATURES and Kenneth Branagh's HAMLET, and some visually groundbreaking films - 300, THE CELL, DUNE, EQUILIBRIUM and SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW.
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