Casino Royale

Fred and Yasser’s Film Club: The End

Posted on Updated on

The time has come for parting…

… but Fred and Yasser got together one last time to look back at the lists as a whole and how they fared. Did either man make any mistakes in they scores? Did they feel hard done by? And have they learned anything at all from the experience?

Here’s your answers…

You can read the entires from previous week by checking out the archives on the left of the screen.

You can also access the complete lists by clicking here for Fred’s and here for Yasser’s.

___________________________________________________________________

Fred: Did you enjoy ‘Film Club’?

Yasser: I loved it, even when it made me hate you

FS: (laughs) I can guess when that might have been. Did you enjoy it more or less than you thought you would at the outset?

YA: I didn’t think it was going to be as fun as it has been

FS: Me either. I knew I’d enjoy my own choices, but I was worried about yours. It’s been great. It opened my eyes. We discussed in the last two posts how it has made us watch films differently

YA: Yeah, but I think I’m safe. Yesterday I watched the new ‘G.I. Joe‘ movie. I don’t want movies to constantly mentally stimulate me. Sometimes I just wanna watch shit get blown up

'Film Club' is over with 'North by Northwest' and 'The Dark Knight' topping the two lists. Both films come from the eras that proved most popular for each man.
‘Film Club’ is over with Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘North by Northwest’ and Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’ topping the two lists.

FS: My first question about the lists themselves is to ask if there are any on my list that you think you would never have watched if you hadn’t been forced to?

YA: Honestly? (laughs)

FS: Be brutal…

YA: All the President’s Men‘, ‘Bad Day at Black Rock‘, ‘Inherit the Wind‘, ‘Cinema Paradiso‘, ‘Wild Strawberries‘, ‘Topsy-Turvy‘, ‘High Noon‘, ‘Breathless‘ and ‘Crimes and Misdemeanors‘. Would never have watched any of those

FS: A lot of the straight dramas, and all of my foreign choices. Interesting

YA: You?

FS:Fearless‘, ‘The Last Samurai‘ and ‘13 Assassins‘. Maybe the first two of the ‘Lord of the Rings‘ trilogy too. I’d already seen the third one

YA: Anything set in the far east or middle earth then

FS: (laughs) Yep! I’m not a lover of martial arts films. Now, ‘Breathless’, ‘All the President’s Men’ and ‘Cinema Paradiso’ all scored fairly well. Do you think you’d be more inclined to give things a chance in future?

YA: Well, I would say I watch more variety than most people. I dislike westerns and ‘Bollywood’, but I try to give everything a chance

FS: Musicals…?

YA: I like ‘Oliver!, and many of the Disney films I grew up watching had lots of songs in them. I used to sing along. I would never watch ‘Mamma Mia‘, though

FS: With your list, I’m not sure I’d go for martial arts movies, but you did help to remind me that I like a good action movie now and again. Things like ‘Batman Begins‘, ‘The Dark Knight‘ and ‘Casino Royale

The controversial film-maker Roman Polanski was the only director to appear on both lists. (FS: 'Chinatown', YA: 'The Pianist'
The controversial film-maker Roman Polanski was the only director to appear on both lists. (FS: ‘Chinatown’; YA: ‘The Pianist’)

FS: Big question now. We have watched the 25. We have rated. Do you think there were any films on my list that you rated too harshly? And are there any you look at and think ‘that was generous‘?

YA: ‘Crimes and Misdemeanors’ was rated harshly. When I read the review we did I was bigging it up at times, talking about the imagery and irony, but there were some elements that I still didn’t like so it probably would’ve gotten a 6/10

FS: That’s good. Anything else?

YA: ‘High Noon’ was generous. Should’ve been a 5/10. ‘Wild Strawberries’ – I was being nice giving it 4/10

FS: No way! Fucking hell! (laughs)

YA: No lie. (laughs) That should be a 3/10. ‘City Lights‘ – Oh my gosh! If the girl was better that would’ve been a 10/10, but it’s still a 9/10

FS: Bastard

YA: Everything else would be the same.

Michael Caine and Liam Neeson are the only actors to appear in three films scross both lists. Caine pops up on each (FS: 'Sleuth'; YA: 'Batman Begins' and 'The Dark Knight') whilst all of Neeson's are on Yasser's list ('Kingdom of Heaven', 'Schindler's List' and 'Batman Begins')
Michael Caine and Liam Neeson are the only actors to appear in three of the 50 films. Caine pops up on both lists (FS: ‘Sleuth’; YA: ‘Batman Begins’ and ‘The Dark Knight’) whilst all of Neeson’s are on Yasser’s list (‘Kingdom of Heaven’, ‘Schindler’s List’ and ‘Batman Begins’)

YA: Your turn!

FS: Okay. ‘Fearless’ got 7/10. I think that was too high. It was a 6/10, mainly because I gave ’13 Assassins’ 6/10, but liked it better. I’d bump ’13 Assassins’ up to a 7/10

YA: Interesting

FS:Meet Joe Black‘…

YA: Emotional connection. Tricky

FS: I think the emotional connection I have with the film meant I was wildly generous. Taken on its own standing, it’s a 4/10. However, I’ll make it a 5/10 because I do like it even though it’s pretty dull

YA: Okay

FS:Amelie‘ would go up to 9/10

YA: I’m glad

FS: ‘Casino Royale’ is an interesting case

YA: Oh?

FS: I almost swayed towards making it a 9/10, but then I saw the superior ‘Skyfall and that cemented the 8/10 in my head

YA: Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! ‘Casino Royale’ is better than ‘Skyfall’

FS: No it’s not. ‘Skyfall had a better villain, the characters were more rounded, and it was just generally more enjoyable

YA: The villain was a rip-off of Ledger’s ‘Joker’. The director said that himself

FS: We could argue about this all day. It’s staying as an 8/10. The rest of your top ten is spot on, except ‘The Dark Knight’

YA: Did you over-mark it?

FS: I didn’t think so when we were discussing it, but looking back I do feel the whole climax with the ferries and the ‘Bat-Sonar’ was well done, but a bit lacklustre. Neither part worked for me so maybe 8/10 was more realistic. It was really good, but the climactic confrontation between Batman and ‘The Joker’ should have been one of the main talking points and we barely mentioned it

YA: The initial plans were to continue ‘The Joker’s’ story in the third film, but with Ledger dying, Nolan couldn’t find it within himself to recast the role

FS: What lesson do we learn from this? Never do anything with eyes on a sequel

YA: Like ‘Back to the Future‘? “FS: touche”

FS: No, not at all

YA: ‘Back to the Future Part II’, man! It sets up ‘Part III’

FS: Yes, but they were filmed back-to-back which is different to making one and thinking ‘in four years time we can make a third‘. If Nolan had filmed ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ back-to-back and Ledger had died during filming then I would take your point, but it didn’t happen that way

At 64 minutes, 'Way Out West' was the shortest film we watched. The 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy was by far the longest, clocking in at a mammoth 682 minutes. All in all, it would take just over five days to watch all 50 films back-to-back.
At 64 minutes, ‘Way Out West’ was the shortest film we watched. The ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy was by far the longest, clocking in at over 11 hours. All in all, it would take just over five days to watch all 50 films back-to-back.

FS: The next question I have is would any of my choices threaten to break into your top 25?

YA:It’s a Wonderful Life‘ could threaten to enter my list, but nothing else. I should have picked a Hitchcock movie but I would have gone for ‘Vertigo

FS:Casablanca‘ should have been on mine. I think part of me didn’t choose it as it felt too obvious but that was a mistake. ‘The Godfather‘ is the big one, though. I don’t think it would make it into the top 10 but we would be looking at somewhere from 11-15

YA: I’m glad about that

FS: Maybe I’d have dropped ‘High Noon’ for ‘Casablanca’. I think if I was to include ‘The Godfather’ then ‘Breathless’ would drop out. I’d struggle to relegate any of the others though

YA: I’m curious. ‘Beauty and the Beast‘…

FS: Yes?

YA: … would that now be your top animation?

FS: Spirited Away‘ is the best animated film I’ve ever seen followed by ‘Up‘. After that ‘Beauty and the Beast’ might be number three

YA: ‘Spirited Away’ is awful. Awful, awful. I think you took more films from me, but your list opened my eyes

Steven Spielberg (top) is the only director to have had three films on the lists - all of them on Yasser's ('War Horse', 'Schindler's List' and 'Saving Private Ryan'). Christopher Nolan and Ridley Scott both appeared twice on Yasser's list, whilst Billy Wilder (bottom) was the only man to direct two of Fred's choices ('Sunset Boulevard' and 'Some Like It Hot').
Steven Spielberg (top) is the only director to have had three films on the lists – all of them on Yasser’s (‘War Horse’, ‘Schindler’s List’ and ‘Saving Private Ryan’). In addition, Christopher Nolan and Ridley Scott both appeared twice on Yasser’s list, but Billy Wilder (bottom) was the only man to direct two of Fred’s choices (‘Sunset Boulevard’ and ‘Some Like It Hot’).

FS: That brings me on to my last point which is about what the main criticisms of each others list would be. For me, your list was limited in its scope both in terms of when the films were made and what genres they crossed

YA: Huh? My list is awesome

FS: I’m not talking about the quality of the films. I’m saying that your 25 is a narrow representation of cinema as a whole

YA: Oh yeah? (laughs) What am I missing?

FS: If we take ‘Birth of a Nation‘ as the first feature-length movie with a plot, that was made 100 years ago, give or take a year. You had 100 years of films to choose from yet 22 or your 25 were made since 1991. That’s nearly 90% of your list

YA: That’s what I grew up watching. You grew up watching things made from the 1950s-70s

FS: Yes, but your parents stop choosing what films you watch when you are how old? I’m not having a go. I’m just saying that whilst your list demonstrates that modern cinema is alive and thriving, there’s not much from before the 1990s

YA: I think my movie taste only improved, like, 5-7 years ago. That’s when I started watching things like ‘Casablanca’ or ‘Gone With the Wind‘. All I watched before that was things like ‘Con Air‘ or ‘Bad Boys

FS: So the majority of the older films you’ve seen just don’t do it for you like modern movies do?

YA: They do but, for both of us, film watching is a labour of love

The average age of Fred's choices is 50 years whilst Yasser's is 16 years. There were 10 films from the 1950s in Fred's list. Yasser chose 12 from the 2000s
The average age of Fred’s choices is 50 years whilst Yasser’s is 16 years. There were 10 films from the 1950s in Fred’s list. Yasser chose 12 from the 2000s making it the most represented decade.

FS: What about the style of films on your list? There isn’t much to smile about on your list, especially towards the very top

YA: Why don’t you just say it? The majority of my films have violence in them

FS: There is that

YA: Your list has lots of nostalgia in it. ‘Breathless’, ‘Singin’ in the Rain‘, ‘Cinema Paradiso’ and ‘Sunset Boulevard‘ all nod to the old days of Hollywood

FS: That’s true

YA: I like violence in films as it’s an escape but I don’t choose movies because they are violent. In my top 10 we have ancient Rome, superheroes, World War II, the mafia, fantasy, espionage, cops and robbers. I think that’s pretty normal

FS: Do you not agree that the films are all the same kind of movie?

YA: (laughs) No, I really don’t

FS: Gangsters, gladiators, soldiers and spies… There is a lot of fighting – big battles or shootouts

YA: Maybe, but my films are based on my interests. I’m very defensive here because I know what people think

Of the seven 'Best Picture' Oscar winners we watched, six were on Yasser's list, including 'Gladiator' (right). 'The Sting' (left) is was the only film on Fred's list to win the big one.
Of the seven ‘Best Picture’ Oscar winners we watched, six were on Yasser’s list, including ‘Gladiator’ (right). ‘The Sting’ (left) is was the only film on Fred’s list to win the big one.

FS: What about my list? What would you say about it?

YA: Some are thought-provoking and the majority have of the films have messages behind them. ‘Crimes and Misdemeanors’ and ‘Wild Strawberries’ in particular are movies where the writers and directors are telling the audience a life lesson they should learn and it felt very pretentious

FS: Interesting

YA: Your comedies were the highlight

FS: I was particularly pleased that my three 1930s comedies scored 27/30 all together

YA: Somehow, I dunno why, I don’t think comedies are as worthy to be in my high estimations as more serious movies

FS: That shows. It’s an attitude I have never, and will never, understand

Thanks to all our ‘Film Club’ followers.

Fred and Yasser’s Film Club: Week Sixteen, Part One: ‘Casino Royale’ (2006)

Posted on Updated on

The Premise
Film fanatics and friends
 Fred Sullivan and Yasser Akram are on a mission to watch 25 of one another’s favourite movies. Each week they will watch one movie each and then get together to discuss what they have seen. Only three of the thirty movies featured so far have been given the maximum ’10/10′ by the viewer, so both men will be hoping to add one or two more as the weeks go by

This week, we arrive at the first of Fred and Yasser’s ten favourite films. Yasser, as always, chooses first and he’s gone for a modern take on an icon of world cinema.

You can read the entries from previous week by checking out the archives on the left of the screen.

To have a look at what Fred has picked so far, click here.

Likewise, for Yasser’s choices, click here.
__________________________________________________________________

Fred: We are in the ‘Top 10s’ now, Yasser, and you number 10 is Daniel Craig‘s first outing as 007, ‘Casino Royale

Yasser: Indeed it is

FS: It’s quite an odd choice in some ways as it’s both a reboot AND a continuation of the long-running series. Why does this get in ahead of other Bond movies?

YA: It’s well written, classy. It captures the best and worst of Bond as a character, and let’s go of all the gimmicks

FS: It does. No Q, no invisible cars, no naked ladies in the titles. ‘Casino Royale’ does have loads of in-jokes, though. Doesn’t that undermine the supposed ‘reboot’?

YA: I don’t thinks so. Little things that were put in ‘Casino Royale’ that tipped their hat to the previous films in the series were there to help the new effort have continuity

FS: I guess they had to throw Bond fans a bone, and most of them were pretty well done

‘Casino Royale’
2006 – UK/USA/Czech Republic/Germany
Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright

FS: Were you a fan of the 1962-2002 movies?

YA: Yes, very much so. I loved the early Brosnan films. Timothy Dalton, I feel, was very underrated

FS: I agree. ‘License to Kill‘ is one of my favourites

YA: I think he did a very good job and had many of the attributes one would expect Bond to have. Connery is my favourite old Bond, though

FS: Isn’t he everyone’s? I guess I want to know where Craig ranks

YA: I think before Craig, ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service‘ was probably the best character-focused Bond film as it delved more into who Bond is and his feelings

FS: If you like character study then you really need to read the books

YA: With all the time I contribute to ‘Film Club’, I don’t have time for books

FS: (shakes head)

YA: It’s probably too soon to judge if Craig is the best Bond. I liked his performance in ‘Quantum of Solace‘, but the film let him down

FS: Oh God! Awful. So boring.

YA: How did you find ‘Casino Royale’?

FS: I’m a big fan of James Bond and I was really looking forward to ‘Casino Royale’ as I’d seen Daniel Craig in a few things and I knew he was a very good actor

YA: The blond hair and piercing blue eyes didn’t put you off?

FS: Roger Moore was blond with blue eyes, so no. The only problem with Daniel Craig is that he’s so fucking miserable in interviews. He seemed like he wasn’t all that happy to be playing Bond, like he didn’t even like the movies. I thought that was odd

YA: I think he went into it with a serious frame of mind

FS: I can’t fault his performance in this, though. He was really very good indeed, even if he does run like a berk

YA: Okay. What did you like about his Bond in ‘Casino Royale’

FS: He’s reckless, he can kill a man without thinking twice about it, and he’s resourceful. Personality-wise, he is a bit serious, but I’m not sure Craig is good at comedy so I can see why they limited the wise cracks. He reminds me very much of Steve McQueen, who was also shit at comedy

YA: That’s a wonderful comparison. There is an element of humour in Craig’s performance, but it’s more dry and sarcastic than others before him

FS: I really liked the opening. It showed Bond’s utter brutality, but also that he was not an experienced killer. He really makes a meal of killing the guy in the bathroom

YA: Yeah, it wasn’t very professional. It was just a desperate fight

FS: After the titles, we have the set up of the villain, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), before a quite breathtaking free-running sequence in Madagascar. Aside from some quite obvious stunt-doubling for Craig, that sequence blew me away when I saw it in the cinema. I’d have stood and applauded if such things weren’t frowned upon

YA: (laughs) We then cut to Bond and M (Judi Dench) and she is not impressed

FS: And, again, it’s a fantastic little exchange. Two very talented actors together. By the time he’s at the Ocean Club in the Bahamas I’m wondering to myself if this could be the best Bond movie I’ve ever seen

YA: Good, good….

FS: There is then a set-piece set in Miami airport and it’s one of the most exciting action scenes I can remember

YA: The runway chase?

FS: Yes. To cut a long story short, an hour has gone by and I haven’t taken my eyes from the screen. Craig is brilliant, the stunt work is superb and I’m really enjoying how they have expanded the story from the book. If the standard of the first hour had been replicated in the second hour, this would have got 10/10 very easily

YA: … However?

FS: What happens after an hour?

YA: Eva Green (laughs). Knew it

FS: I don’t know what it was but she dragged the whole film down. Craig lost it, and it all started in that train sequence

YA: What the fuck, man? That is one of my favourite scenes in my list

FS: Daniel Craig looked so uncomfortable delivering that sort of dialogue. It was very strained, very unnatural and it was embarrassing to watch. I was wincing

YA: Fred!!! It was a good exchange of underhand quips

FS: It’s not. It’s awful. They have zero chemistry for a start, and the lines are terrible. Not funny or sexy

YA: Ah mate! You are killing me here

FS: I’m not having a go at Craig, but he’s just not cut out for comedy. He has no timing. And Eva Green is no better. I can’t believe this is one of your favourite scenes. Considering the rest of the film, I’m astonished

YA: I’ve seen it dozens of times. Never once have I not smiled of enjoyed it. I’m flabbergasted at your disgust

FS: What’s funny is I’ve just told you that the first hour was incredible, yet we’ve spent most of out time talking about five minutes I thought were shit

YA: (laughs)

FS: And now we get to the bit you were scared of… THE BOOK!

YA: This is ‘Film Club’, not ‘Book Club’

FS: (laughs) The card game makes up the vast majority of the book

YA: And a large chunk of the film too

FS: There are three problems with the card game sequences as they appear in the film. Firstly, watching people play cards is quite boring. Second – they had to jazz up this part of the film with action scenes, and they were very good, but they used ‘Bond has a crisis, but returns to the table looking absolutely fine’ too much. How many tuxes did he have? Eight?

YA: Were these major gripes?

FS: No, but the third one was. Because film makers treat audiences with utter contempt, they felt the need to have Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) explain the rules of Poker every five seconds. Very stilted

FS: Shall we talk about some good stuff before you start doing the ‘Hans Zimmer rock‘ in your chair?

YA: (laughs) Twat! What were your thoughts on the famous torture scene?

FS: It’s really well done, and it’s brutal, but it’s lifted straight from the book. It’s a good scene, but I can’t credit the director more than that. Everyone’s done a good job, but the material was there for them

YA: This is why I asked you not to compare it to the book

FS: It’s a very good film based on a very good book. There is no problem

YA: What about the end section in Italy?

FS: Bond is quite naive, but that, again, is faithful to the flawed Bond of the novels. The last action sequence in Venice is good, just not as good as what went before it

YA: Was there anything you liked about Eva Green’s performance?

FS: Seriously, she was okay. I quite like her, but it’s unfortunate that the first time we meet Vesper (Green) is after an hour when the film take a slight downturn in quality. That first scene she’s in on the train, as discussed, doesn’t work so it takes her quite while to make any impact

YA: And what about the villain, Mads Mikkelsen?

FS: He was quite understated for a Bond villain, which I liked. He was wealthy but he didn’t have an underground lair or anything. His plans were more modest and realistic than world domination… I mean realistic in Bond terms

YA: I think that’s a welcome change. It was good for the new ‘double-0’ to have a more modest villain as he finds his feet

YA: I think Martin Campbell‘s direction was very well done

FS: There was a danger that having this ‘reboot’ directed by someone who had been involved in the old series could have negated all the changes they wanted to make but it turned out to be a masterstroke. The direction was first class. There are sequences where you’re sitting there, bolt upright, teeth clamped together and eyes wide open. For what the movie was, the direction is perfect

YA: Finally, Dave Arnold’s score. If you watch it again, you might notice that any time Craig does something we know James Bond for – putting on a tux for the first time for instance – the music bubbles slightly with a little touch of the James Bond theme, but he saves the whole theme for the end of the film when Craig uses his catchphrase for the first time

FS: It’s like the last piece of the jigsaw. He’s officially 007 now, so play the music

YA: Exactly. Well I guess I’d like to hear your final thoughts

FS: I really, really enjoyed this choice. The first hour is absolutely thrilling and has you on the edge of your seat more than once. Daniel Craig is someone I like as an actor and he hits the ground running as the new breed of Bond, one that is faithful to Ian Fleming’s novels but that also brings 007 into the 21st Century where Jason Bourne is king. Unfortunately, the first hour is so good that the second half struggled to live up to it. The majority of the second hour is spent around a card table, which is fine, but it’s shown up compared to the beginning. Eva Green is fine. She’s not a great actress, but she grew into the role. The lack of chemistry between her and Craig is the film’s biggest drawback, though. Mikkelsen makes a good, if atypically quiet and error prone villain. I liked this understated style. If the standard of the first hour had been kept up all the way through, this would have been a ’10’, but because of the problems around Green and Craig, and the uneven pace of the film which sees the best scene appear in the first ten minutes – a problem that seriously undermines the comparatively dull climax – it gets 8/10

YA: Oooh! Thank you, Mr Bond

FS: (laughs)

YA: So, what is your favourite Bond movie?

FS:The Spy Who Loved Me‘… which is also Alan Partridge’s

Later this week: Pray silence for the legendary Charlie Chaplin

Fred and Yasser’s Film Club: Yasser’s 25

Posted on Updated on

The films that Yasser has chosen for Fred will be updated week-by-week on this page. Click on the film’s title to read the blog post.

Yasser’s List for Fred

The Dark Knight (2008)1. The Dark Knight (2008)

Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine
Fred’s Rating: 9/10

Gladiator (2000)2. Gladiator (2000)

Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Neilsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi
Fred’s Rating: 8/10

The Departed (2006)3. The Departed (2006)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen
Fred’s Rating: 9/10

4. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Ed Burns, Barry Pepper, Matt Damon
Fred’s Rating: 8/10

5. The Godfather (1972)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall
Fred’s Rating: 10/10

6. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth
Fred’s Rating: 9/10

7. Heat (1995)

Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd
Fred’s Rating: 7/10

8. Batman Begins (2005)

Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Katie Holmes
Fred’s Rating: 8/10

9. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended Edition (2001-2003)
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Sean Astin
Fred’s Rating: 8/10

10. Casino Royale (2006)

Director: Martin Campbell
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright
Fred’s Rating: 8/10

11. The Last Samurai (2003)

Director: Edward Zwick
Starring: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn, Billy Connolly, Timothy Spall
Fred’s Rating: 4/10 

12. Schindler’s List (1993)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Embeth Davidtz, Ezra Dagan
Fred’s Rating: 9/10

13. Kingdom of Heaven: The Director’s Cut (2005)

Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Marton Csokas, Jeremy Irons, Edward Norton
Fred’s Rating: 3/10

14. 13 Assassins (Jusan-nin no shikaku) (2010)

Director: Takashi Miike
Starring: Koji Yakusho, Masachika Ichimura, Goro Inagaki, Takayuki Yamada, Yusuke Iseya
Fred’s Rating: 6/10

15. Amelie (Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain) (2001)

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Serge Merlin, Rufus, Jamel Debbouze
Fred’s Rating: 8/10

16. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Starring (Voices only): Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers
Fred’s Rating: 10/10

17. Four Lions (2010)

Director: Chris Morris
Starring: Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak, Nigel Lindsay, Adeel Akhtar, Arsher Ali
Fred’s Rating: 7/10

18. The Pianist (2002)

Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Adrien Brody, Frank Finlay, Thomas Kretschmann, Ed Stoppard, Emilia Fox
Fred’s Rating: 7/10

19. Meet Joe Black (1998)

Director: Martin Brest
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt, Claire Forlani, Jake Weber, Marcia Gay Harden
Fred’s Rating: 7/10

20. The Ten Commandments (1956)

Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Starring: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne DeCarlo
Fred’s Rating: 6/10

21. East is East (1999)

Director: Damien O’Donnell
Starring: Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Jimi Mistry, Archie Panjabi, Jordan Routledge
Fred’s Rating: 5/10

22. War Horse (2011)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Niels Arestrup, Tom Hiddleston, Peter Mullan, Emily Watson
Fred’s Rating: 6/10

23. Casablanca (1942)

Director: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet
Fred’s Rating: 10/10

24. Borat: Cultural Learinings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
Director: Larry Charles
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Pamela Anderson, Luenell, Mitchell Falk
Fred’s Rating: 5/10 

25. Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia) (2006)

Director: Ronny Yu.
Starring: Jet Li, Shido Nakamura, Yong Dong, Betty Sun, Collin Chou.
Fred’s rating: 7/10