Jaws (1975) 8/10

Starring : Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Director : Steven Spielberg
Running Time : 119 mins

Following a series of shark attacks, Police Chief Martin Brody (Scheider) suggests that closing the beach on the small island of Amity would be a wise idea, but the local people need to keep the beach open to make money off their fourth of July celebrations, but as the death toll rises, the community are forced to call in professionals to capture and kill the deadly menace.

An all time classic which made the big budget horror a reality, this has stood the test of time as a truely scary movie. The shark never looked that realistic at the best of times, but that doesn't matter when you consider how well crafted this movie truly is. It's just a shame about the terrible sequels really which have done nothing but sully this movies name.

Escape From New York (1981) 8/10

Starring : Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau
Director : John Carpenter
Running Time : 95 mins

When a plane carrying the president (Pleasance) is shot down in New York, which is now a penal colony, the government call in Snake Plissken (Russell) to go in and attempt to rescue him from the gang who are holding him and a very important tape hostage. Plissken has 23 hours to get back with the president, or a controlled explosive will open up his arteries and kill him!

This is a very well orchestrated movie, without going over the top with ridiculous futuristic nonsense like so many other movies of it's ilk. The action is slow and limited, but that doesn't take out any of the suspense or the impact, plus it's always funny to see a movie that's set in the apparent future, this one being set in 1997!

Die Hard (1988) 10/10

Starring : Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, De’voreaux White, William Atherton
Director : John McTiernan
Running Time : 126 mins

New York cop John McClane (Willis) finds himself trapped in his wife’s office building during their Christmas party when a group of terrorists lead by the sinister Hans Gruber (Rickman) hold the staff hostage in order to steal $600 million in bonds from the buildings safe, but McClane won’t just lie down and give up as he sets about trying to stop the terrorists before any of the innocent hostages get killed.

This is possibly one of the best action movies ever made, and has stood the test of time almost 20 years after it’s original release. Willis is fantastic as that rare breed of hero who can actually be injured, but still fights on, and Rickman is at his sneering best as Hans Gruber. A definite must see for anyone who enjoys all-action movies.

Once Were Warriors (1994) 8/10

Starring : Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell, Julian Arahanga, Taungaroa Emile, Cliff Curtis
Director : Lee Tamahori
Running Time : 99 mins

The Heke family have a lot of problems, many stemming from the father, Jake (Morrison), and his group of loutish friends who are a constant presence in the family home. It’s his wife Beth (Owen) who has to keep the family together, but as the eldest son gets involved with street gangs and the younger children are faced with their fathers violence against her, Beth realises that she may not be able to protect her children forever.

This is a very powerful depiction of the different ways in which domestic violence can impact upon and eventually destroy a family. The performances from the cast are strong throughout, and some of the action is cringe worthy to say the least. This is a good film, but definitely not for the faint hearted.

Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978) 8/10

Starring : Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy
Director : Philip Kaufman
Running Time : 111 mins

Matthew Bennell (Sutherland) becomes suspicious of the unusual behaviour of some of his friends, but when he witnesses one of them being cocooned by a strange plant like creature, he realises that aliens are invading and replacing people with emotionless clones of their former selves, and now he doesn’t know who he can trust.

For a remake this was pretty good and in many ways surpasses the original, much in the same way as The Thing did four years later. It’s a shame that someone has decided to make yet another remake of this with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, as there is littleor no chance that it will be as atmospheric. There were a few odd moments which seemed unnecessary, but this is to be expected with Kaufman’s films, but overall this is a well structured and highly enjoyable film.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) 9/10

Starring : Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey
Director : John Hughes
Running Time : 99 mins

Ferris Bueller (Broderick) decides to take the day off school, and also forces his friends Cameron Frye (Ruck) and Sloane Peterson (Sara) to join him. When he convinces his parents that he is too sick to go to school his headteacher, Ed Rooney (Jones), knows that he’s up to no good so tries to catch him in the act of skipping school.

This is one of my all time favourite teen comedies, and marks the high point in the career of John Hughes. It’s such a simple idea, but is handles in Hughes’ inimitable way so as to keep the viewer entertained non stop throughout the movie. A definite must see for any child of the 80s, this all time classic should be included in the DVD collection of all 20/30 somethings.

The Thing (1982) 9/10

Starring : Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, TK Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard Dysart
Director : John Carpenter
Running Time : 103 mins

A group of American scientists in the Antarctic take in a stray dog that was being pursued a group of Norwegians in a helicopter, which crashes. But the dog isn’t a dog, it’s a shape-shifting alien which had destroyed the Norwegian base and now plans on killing every on the American base as well!

In my opinion this is one of the best science fiction horrors of all time, only surpassed by the Alien movies. The special effects are absolutely fantastic, and though it’s a pretty basic plot the effects more than make up for it. This is probably the highlight of John Carpenter’s career, and it’s a shame that nothing of his has really been as good since.

Mystery Men (1999) 8/10

Starring : Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H Macy, Janeane Garofalo, Paul Reubens, Geoffrey Rush, Greg Kinnear, Eddie Izzard, Kel Mitchell, Wes Studi, Claire Forlani
Director : Kinka Usher
Running Time : 116 mins

In order to boost his popularity, Captain Amazing (Kinnear) organises for the evil Casanova Frankenstein (Rush) to be released from prison so that he can be given an actual challenge. Unfortunately, Casanova decides to capture Amazing, so a group of inept superheroes band together in order to save him.

This is one of the best comedy super hero movies ever made, without going too over the top with the humour, and was surprisingly based on a little known comic book. Despite featuring a lot of silly characters with silly powers, at no point does the film meander into slapstick for no good reason.

The Terminator (1984) 9/10

Starring : Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen
Director : James Cameron
Running Time : 108 mins

A cyborg assassin called The Terminator (Schwarzenegger) is sent back through time to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Hamilton), whose unborn son will lead the human race in a war with a race of machines. Sarah find herself running for her life with only the help of a man named Kyle Reese (Beihn), who has also travelled back to protect her.

This is an all-time classic, and made James Cameron a household name overnight. Having Arnie play a villain would sound unusual now, but he was only known for a few small parts at the time, and plays the emotionless killer to the hilt. Hamilton is brilliant as Sarah Connor, but Biehn is a little one-dimensional, and it’s little wonder that few directors other than Cameron will give him lead roles.

Aliens (1986) 10/10

Starring : Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, Bill Paxton
Director : James Cameron
Running Time : 154 mins

Ellen Ripley (Weaver), the last survivor of the mining ship Nostromo, wakes up to find that decades have passed and that the planet that her crew discovered the xenomorphs on has now been colonised. Subsequently, all contact has been lost with the colony, and a troop of hardened marines is being sent in to investigate.

One of the best sci-fi movies ever, and a rarity as it’s as good as the original, this marked quite the turning point in the advent of real action horror! The film takes a long time to build up to the action, and really holds off showing the aliens themselves for quite a while, which only intensifies the overall feeling of dread throughout the movie.

Friday The 13th (1980) 6/10

Starring : Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Harry Crosby, Kevin Bacon
Director : Sean S Cunningham
Running Time : 93 mins

Quite innovative at the time, this is probably most famous for not actually featuring Jason Voorhies in any great capacity. Basically a group of horny camp workers cause the supposed death of a young boy and, many years later, someone starts kill of workers at the same camp. Pretty predictable for anyone who knows anything about Friday The 13th, but enjoyable all the same.

Grease (1978) 9/10

Starring : John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Director : Randal Kleiser
Running Time : 106 mins

Following a holiday romance, Danny Zuko (Travolta) thinks he’ll never see Sandy Olsson (Newton-John) again, but when she turns up as the new student at his high school he finds it difficult to keep up the façade of being a nice decent young man when he’s actual a bit of a greaser and a gang member.

This movie actually made musicals cool, and acceptable for both men and women! Travolta and Newton-John make a great team throughout, playing both the good kids and the bad to the hilt.

Goodfellas (1990) 10/10

Starring : Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino
Director : Martin Scorcese
Running Time : 140 mins

Henry Hill (Liotta) works for the mob, and everything in his life is pretty much perfect until his friends and business partners Tommy De Vito (Pesci) and Jimmy Conway (De Niro) brutally murder Billy Batts (Frank Vincent), a made man in the competing Gambino crime family. This offence could get them all killed by the Gambinos if discovered, so Henry, Tommy and Jimmy set about disposing of the body, which is only the beginning of their eventual downfall, culminating in their trafficking of drugs against the orders of their mob bosses.

This is probably the best gangster movie I’ve ever seen, in many ways I even think it surpasses the Godfather itself. Pesci is both funny and frightening as Tommy, and Liotta plays the almost carefree Henry very well. Definitely one that everybody should have seen by now, and if not then get out there and buy yourself a copy!

Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) 9/10

Starring : Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, Hal Landon Jr, Terry Camilleri, Dan Shor, Tony Steedman
Director : Stephen Herek
Running Time : 86 mins

A time traveller named Rufus (Carlin) travels back in time to prevent Bill Preston (Winter) and Ted Logan (Reeves) from failing their history exams and preventing the end of all future civilisation. So he gives them a time travelling phone booth, and they set about travelling through time to meet some of the historical figures they’re supposed to write their report on.

This movie was made on a relatively small budget, but still manages to last the test of time. It is full of silly one-liners and memorable moments, and the supporting cast of historical figures all play their parts magnificently. The very idea of two slackers being the foundation of future society is somehow both comforting and disturbing, but it is played quite well and makes for a charming little tale.

Bride Of Re-Animator (1989) 6/10

Starring : Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abott, Claude Earl Jones, Fabiano Udenio, David Gale
Director : Brian Yuzna
Running Time : 97 mins

Dr Herbert West (Combs), who has discovered a way to re-animate dead tissue, now realises that he can create brand new living creatures from splicing spare parts together, and he plans on bringing the dead girlfriend of his colleague Dr Dan Cain (Abbott) back from the dead and giving her the perfect body!

Despite not being as good as the original, this was actually a lot more gory, with all sorts of gross-out weirdness happening throughout. The Frankenstein’s-monster bride was particularly nasty, especially her inevitable demise towards the end.

Rush Hour (1998) 8/10

Starring : Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Elizabeth Peña, Ken Leung, Tzi Ma
Director : Brett Ratner
Running Time : 94 mins

When Chief Inspector Lee (Chan) travels to the USA to try to find the kidnapped daughter of Consul Han (Ma), he is partnered with LA detective James Carter (Tucker) who is told his job is to keep Lee out of the way of the investigation. Unfortunately the two of them don’t like being kept out of the loop, and decide to carry on the investigation themselves.

This is probably one of Jackie Chan’s best English speaking movies, despite the fact that Chris Tucker’s voice is continually annoying throughout. There’s a decent contemporary plot to keep the viewer interested, and the on screen chemistry builds as the movie progresses.

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) 9/10

Starring : Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Alfred Molina
Director : Steven Spielberg
Running Time : 111 mins

Renowned archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones (Ford) is hired by the American Government to locate the Ark of the Covenant, which legend has it still contains the tablets containing the Ten Commandments, but it’s not just Indy that’s after the Ark, as he finds himself pursued throught Nepal and Cairo by Nazis!

Probably the best movie ever to involve George Lucas, this definitely stands the test of time over 25 years after its release. Ford is the perfect choice to play the swashbuckling hero, and the effects are amazing for their time. If you haven’t already seen this film, then don’t you think it’s about time you did?

The Evil Dead (1981) 8/10

Starring : Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Hal Delrich, Betsy Baker, Sarah York
Director : Sam Raimi
Running Time : 83 mins

A group of young people travel up to a cabin in the woods, where they discover the Book Of The Dead, the Necronomicon. The cabin’s previous occupant, a professor of archaeology, has made a recording of the translation which raises the dead, and when the group play it back the Evil Dead are released once again, and the only way to kill someone once they become infected with a Deadite is to completely dismember their corpse!

This is the ultimate video nasty, and has stood the test of time, maybe not in terms of special effects, but definitely in terms of pure scare factor. Not many people can watch this without grimacing at least on one occasion, and that’s what makes this movie so special.

Re-Animator (1985) 7/10

Starring : Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale
Director : Stuart Gordon
Running Time : 86 mins

Whilst working in Austria, medical student Herbert West (Combs) has discovered a new scientific method of re-animating human flesh after it has died. When he moves to the US, he attempts to continue his research with the grudging help of his new house mate Dan Cain (Abbott), who agrees to help him sneak into the hospital morgue. Sadly, things go horribly wrong when one of the re-animated corpses accidentally kills one of their teachers.

A truly gory horror flick, this has recently become one of my favourite video nasties purely based on its ridiculous plotline and over-the-top violence. Not for those with weak stomachs, but if you can deal with all the blood and gore I’d definitely recommend giving it a go.

Alien (1979) 10/10

Starring : Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto
Director : Ridley Scott
Running Time : 116 mins

The crew of the Nostromo receive an SOS from a derelict planet and discover what appears to be an abandoned alien colony. When they go to investigate, crewman Kane (Hurt) is attacked by a strange creature which burns through his helmet and attaches itself to his face. The creature eventually falls off and dies, but it’s left something inside Kane, something very dangerous…

This movie is a timeless classic – almost thirty years on and it still looks scarier than some modern horrors. Basically this is the ultimate claustrophobic horror movie, taking concepts from the horrors of the fifties and translating them into space, combining genuine terror with paranoia.