It’s pretty hard to have a favourite anything isn’t it? Especially when it comes to…no, it’s hard to have a favourite anything. Different thing have different things to offer. Unlike me – who has nothing to offer, but that is just me indulging my self-pity; it may not be the biggest in the world but I know what I am doing with it. How is it always about my cock with you people?
Paul, who I work with, sent us (me and the other lads on the team, I wasn’t using us as a first person pro-noun) a list of his top ten films that he compiled a few years ago; he’s been asked to by his girlfriend, what kind of saddo writes things for no-one to read? [I’d be winking at the camera – if this was a TV show – right now. Though, of course, no-one would be watching.] He admitted that his ten films that then counted as his top ten were (a) probably not even his ten favourite films then and (b) they definitely not his ten favourite films now. Clearly his girlfriend shouldn’t be trusting anything he says, for starters.
Regardless of whether or not you can trust Paul, can you rank art? No, not really. Well of course you can. But it will only ever be representative of your thoughts at that moment in time and not necessarily reflective of much more. For example, when I was an emotional mess following the end of my previous relationship I watched the Ryan Reynolds romcom Definitely Maybe every day for a week or so. EVERY day. Not really every day. I was exaggerating. I watched it quite a few times over a few weeks is more accurate. It was somehow a comfort in those difficult times and would easily have been one of may favourite films around that time. But, ask me now what I think of it and I wouldn’t hesitate to admit: it is brilliant, definitely (maybe?HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA) one of my favourite films.
That was a bad example. I should have chosen a film that was very high in my affections at some stage but then fell from grace, for one reason or another. Like when I was…I was just going to describe when I liked a film in the past and then say I still liked it. Yep, I was going to repeat a joke that wasn’t funny.
Anyway…so it is hard to pick a top 10 of stuff like films. Or songs. Or books. If you factor in getting older and having more to choose from it is a nightmare. Though this is slightly cancelled out by going fucking dolally and forgetting stuff. With most of my marbles still in place I tried to assemble a ten. Striking the balance is hard. Different films seem brilliant for different reason. Artistic merit and great stories are one thing, but they wont necessarily keep you in laughs. Laughs are important to me. I also think a film being re-watchable is a great quality, but does it mean it is not a great film if you don’t want to watch it again. The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now are not even on the (below) ‘short’ list for my top ten. I do think both of them are both great films, and certainly examples of film as art. However watching either of them again isn’t that appealing. I would rather watch 10 Things I Hate About You for the 42nd time.
Although I have talked about how hard it is to say what your favourite thing is other than at any given moment, is it that different for any other concept? Love is fleeting, can be; ditto hate, and everything in between.
I also predict there are loads of films I have forgotten to put on my ‘short’ list. Is Unforgiven on there? Is Once Upon A Time in America? I am such a fucking idiot.
Also: I used to watch loads of foreign stuff on Channel 4 and BBC2 (oh wasn’t I such a fucking little intellectual? No, I also watched all the Carry On films) that I didn’t know the name of at the time, let alone what they are called now, especially all the old asian stuff where the lads had that minging bald head/pony tail thing.
This is my ‘short list’ for my top ten, in no order (though Goodfellas or Rushmore is probably my favourite):
Goodfellas Rushmore The Royal Tennenbaums True Romance Pulp Fiction Jackie Brown Inglorious Basterds Godfather Pt 1 The King of Comedy This is Spinal Tap The Sting The Hustler Ocean’s 11 (2001) Point Break Gremlins The Goonies As Good As It Gets Rounders Heat Dazed and Confused Mallrats Chasing Amy Dogma Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Kingpin Zoolander Old School Step Brothers Knocked Up Indianna Jones and The Raiders of The Last Ark Indianna Jones and The Last Crusade Scarface Taxi Driver American Pie Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back The Departed Jurassic Park Ghostbusters Carlito’s Way 12 Angry Men Citizen Kane Rear Window Rope Die Hard Die Hard II: Die Harder Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind Bull Durham Kes Platoon Rocky The Life of Brian Four Lions Independence Day Armageddon Good Will Hunting Terminator 2 Jerry Maguire 10 Things I Hate About You Grosse Point Blank Get Carter The Untouchables 16 Candles Weird Science The Wanderers Cinema Paradiso Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring The Shining City of God Amelie Unbreakable This is England Jaws Escape to Victory Alfie (1966) The Lost Boys Stand by Me Rosemary’s Baby The Exorcist When Harry Met Sally Shaun of The Dead Definitely Maybe A Life Less Ordinary Back to The Future Teen Wolf Iron Man Trading Places The Matrix Do The Right Thing Submarine Enter The Dragon Naked The Social Network 101 Dalmatians Annie Hall
