So finally, got round to giving some thought to my favourite films, these are not necessarily a top ten, as we all know our tastes and moods for films ebb and flow, but at the time of writing, if asked to pick 10 films to on a desert island with, are:-

Rebecca

My only black and white film here, Hitchcock, Olivier and Fontaine all at their best, in Daphne Du Mauriers’ best, quite simply a classic.

Best bit: Mrs Danvers....Booooooooooooo

Hellraiser

Clive Barker is a genius writer, still to be truly represented on the screen, but Hellraiser is by far the closest to the spirit of any of his work

Best Bit: Doug Bradleys pinhead of course.

The Shawshank Redemption

This one’s gotta be in everyone’s Top 10, the classic tale of one mans struggle over injustice and adversity, exciting, heart rendering and hopeful.

Best bit: The account of Andy Andy Dufresne eventual escape, and the defeat of the Warden

Aliens

This film broke the adage that a sequel was doomed to fall short of the original, and while not as defining as the first it serves up all the thrills of the first in spades

Best Bit "..We're in the pipe..Five by Five..."

300

The most recent on my list, a superb visual spectacle, innovative and compelling.

The best bit: The first time the Persians attack, and Leonardis kicks their arse

The Godfather

Hard to split this from it’s continuations, but as a foundation for the trilogy this film in unsurpassed, anywhere.

Best Bit: Two words.....Horses Head

Forrest Gump

The film that makes me happy the most, and makes me cry the most, the bit where he meets his son for the first time and watches TV with him, kills me every time.

Best Bit: Forests obliviousness to Lt Taylor (Gary Sinise) despair, turning it into friendship, that, and the final realisation of his relationship with Jenny

Batman Begins

Big fan of comic conversions and the Genre, this narrowly beat Sin City as my choice.

Best bit: The fact that it totally eradicated the damage done towards the end of the previous 4 films, and made Batman cool again

Apocalypse Now

The ultimate war film, rollercoaster through the horror, thrill, absurdity, futility and inevitability of war

Best Bit: All of it.

Braveheart

Probably considered my weakest choice, but I think a Gritty film of hope, love and honour. If you can get past the poor accents and historical inaccuracies,  it’s a highly enjoyable Film

Best Bit: Longchamps throwing his gay son's lover out the window for daring to speak to him.

And finally, this is my pick for film of the year, and it’s another Mel Gibson extravaganza. It’s Apocalypto, we saw this on DVD, and I wish I’d caught it at the cinema. The story of a South American Indian tribe, raped, tortured and enslaved by the neighbouring more dominant and expanding tribe, who raid and pillage the land and it’s people to feed it’s own growth. Spoken entirely in an ancient Mayan dialect does little to detract from a magnificent film

Best Bit: The eventual arrival at the Temple and the Slaves realisation of their fate