1. Transformers (Yes... I know)
2. Juno
3. Atonement
4. Eagle Vs Shark
5. There Will Be Blood
6. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
7. Persepolis
8. Gone Baby Gone.
9. Things We Lost in the Fire
10. The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Yes, you read that right. I really did put Transformers at number 1. I haven't got raging psychosis. And I'm in no way claiming that it's a better film than the likes of There Will Be Blood and Jesse James, etc. But the cartoon and toys were a big part of my childhood, and watching the film in the cinema with like minded friends had a big nostalgic and emotional resonance for me. And I do think that, as far as spectacle cinema goes, it was initially very impressive. Because it's sequels have completely obliterated it's reputation people tend to forget that it was pretty well liked at the time. It wasn't the dirty word that it is now.

@JustinJackFlash said:

Yes, you read that right. I really did put Transformers at number 1. I haven't got raging psychosis. And I'm in no way claiming that it's a better film than the likes of There Will Be Blood and Jesse James, etc. But the cartoon and toys were a big part of my childhood, and watching the film in the cinema with like minded friends had a big nostalgic and emotional resonance for me. And I do think that, as far as spectacle cinema goes, it was initially very impressive. Because it's sequels have completely obliterated it's reputation, people tend to forget that it was pretty well liked at the time. It wasn't the dirty word that it is now.

Haha no criticism from me, and I say this as one who had to turn off Transformers after half an hour. But you are absolutely correct, it did receive its fair share of positive reviews back in the day and I know that it still has its fans.

@JustinJackFlash said:

1. Transformers (Yes... I know)
2. Juno
3. Atonement
4. Eagle Vs Shark
5. There Will Be Blood
6. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
7. Persepolis
8. Gone Baby Gone.
9. Things We Lost in the Fire
10. The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

Yes, you read that right. I really did put Transformers at number 1. I haven't got raging psychosis. And I'm in no way claiming that it's a better film than the likes of There Will Be Blood and Jesse James, etc. But the cartoon and toys were a big part of my childhood, and watching the film in the cinema with like minded friends had a big nostalgic and emotional resonance for me. And I do think that, as far as spectacle cinema goes, it was initially very impressive. Because it's sequels have completely obliterated it's reputation, people tend to forget that it was pretty well liked at the time. It wasn't the dirty word that it is now.

Also, the point of these lists are what are YOUR 'Top Tens' not what were the 'best' films. Hey I have the first 2 'Transporter's' on my list and they are far from 'Oscar' material.

This year was hard.

The Last King of Scotland

Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia

Atonement

Bikur Ha-Tizmoret

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

El orfanato

Se, jie

Persepolis

The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Moliere

The Italian

Honorable mentions:

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Bridge to Terabithia

Enchanted

Meet the Robinsons

La doublure

Ocean's Thirteen

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep

El Cantante

Mr. Bean's Holiday

@bratface said:

Also, the point of these lists are what are YOUR 'Top Tens' not what were the 'best' films. Hey I have the first 2 'Transporter's' on my list and they are far from 'Oscar' material.

Yes, I know. But Transformers has become the go to word for calling someone an idiot on film forums. To the extent that anyone who likes it has to whisper it or be shamed. Which is a little unfair because I think absolutely everyone likes at least one bad film. Nobody has objectively perfect film tastes.

@JustinJackFlash said:

@bratface said:

Also, the point of these lists are what are YOUR 'Top Tens' not what were the 'best' films. Hey I have the first 2 'Transporter's' on my list and they are far from 'Oscar' material.

Yes, I know. But Transformers has become the go to word for calling someone an idiot on film forums. To the extent that anyone who likes it has to whisper it or be shamed. Which is a little unfair because I think absolutely everyone likes at least one bad film. Nobody has objectively perfect film tastes.

But is it really the movie that people hate or is it Michael Bay?

@bratface said:

@JustinJackFlash said:

@bratface said:

Also, the point of these lists are what are YOUR 'Top Tens' not what were the 'best' films. Hey I have the first 2 'Transporter's' on my list and they are far from 'Oscar' material.

Yes, I know. But Transformers has become the go to word for calling someone an idiot on film forums. To the extent that anyone who likes it has to whisper it or be shamed. Which is a little unfair because I think absolutely everyone likes at least one bad film. Nobody has objectively perfect film tastes.

But is it really the movie that people hate or is it Michael Bay?

Both.

But again I don't think that's totally fair. There are many things that Bay is absolutely awful at. Nuance being one of those things. And he's probably a cocaine fueled dickhead. But there are things he's very good at. I say The Rock is a great example of spectacle cinema. It's the film that started the trend for casting respectable actors in action films. Before that it was Arnie, Sly and Van Damme. And his visuals are often spectacular. There are action directors out there that are definitely worse. But he gets the hate because he's more well known. Is he a worse director than Len Wiseman? Or Paul WS Anderson?

But, yeah, he's done himself no favours with the unrelenting Transformers sequels that he thoughtlessly churns out just for the cash.

@glomps and nibbles said:

@bratface : But is it really the movie that people hate or is it Michael Bay?

I think you got a point there. I somewhere feel that Transformers could have got a much better Director. But that is just my opinion.

I thought he was fine for the first one. But then Speilberg clearly had a lot of influence. You can clearly feel the Spielberg vibes in it. While there was also much better writers on the first one (Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who wrote the Star Trek reboot). Which is why the humour is different to the sequels. So there was a mix of people that I think came together quite well on the first film. On the sequels it was just Bay and a hack writer. Which is why they don't feel the same.

@glomps and nibbles said:

Completely agree about The Rock. That movie is awesome. I still remember the scene where Sean is at the showers and listening to the San Francisco song. And that car chase though..

I do love the car chase. When Bay was first announced for Transformers I pictured that car chase where the cars would turn into robots before and after. And to an extent that's kinda what we got. The sequels seemed to move further and further away from that so they became just robots fighting.

I really think they should just completely reboot the films now. Get a new director who could do something different and interesting with the material.

@JustinJackFlash said:

@bratface said:

@JustinJackFlash said:

@bratface said:

Also, the point of these lists are what are YOUR 'Top Tens' not what were the 'best' films. Hey I have the first 2 'Transporter's' on my list and they are far from 'Oscar' material.

Yes, I know. But Transformers has become the go to word for calling someone an idiot on film forums. To the extent that anyone who likes it has to whisper it or be shamed. Which is a little unfair because I think absolutely everyone likes at least one bad film. Nobody has objectively perfect film tastes.

But is it really the movie that people hate or is it Michael Bay?

Both.

But again I don't think that's totally fair. There are many things that Bay is absolutely awful at. Nuance being one of those things. And he's probably a cocaine fueled dickhead. But there are things he's very good at. I say The Rock is a great example of spectacle cinema. It's the film that started the trend for casting respectable actors in action films. Before that it was Arnie, Sly and Van Damme. And his visuals are often spectacular. There are action directors out there that are definitely worse. But he gets the hate because he's more well known. Is he a worse director than Len Wiseman? Or Paul WS Anderson?

But, yeah, he's done himself no favours with the unrelenting Transformers sequels that he thoughtlessly churns out just for the cash.

I went and looked at his filmography and can say that I haven't seen any of his movies, I have seen bits & pieces of Armageddon but that's it. I'm not a big 'mainstream' (Hollywood) action fan, there are a few I like but for the most part, not a fan.

@bratface said:

I went and looked at his filmography and can say that I haven't seen any of his movies, I have seen bits & pieces of Armageddon but that's it. I'm not a big 'mainstream' (Hollywood) action fan, there are a few I like but for the most part, not a fan.

Not sure Armageddon's the best example. The Rock is much, much better.

@JustinJackFlash said:

@bratface said:

I went and looked at his filmography and can say that I haven't seen any of his movies, I have seen bits & pieces of Armageddon but that's it. I'm not a big 'mainstream' (Hollywood) action fan, there are a few I like but for the most part, not a fan.

Not sure Armageddon's the best example. The Rock is much, much better.

Probably, but I do not like the 3 main stars, so there isn't a chance in hell that I would watch it

@bratface said:

Probably, but I do not like the 3 main stars, so there isn't a chance in hell that I would watch it

Well, if it's not your thing why would you. But it was way before Nic Cage's shit straight to video phase. It was ok to like him back then, believe it or not.

@glomps and nibbles said:

@JustinJackFlash

After discussing all of this, i watched The Rock again after so many years and it amazes me how it still stands the test of time.

The Rock is a very important movie for the Action Genre. The casting is top notch. Ed Harris and David Morse have done a fantastic job. Really intense and enthralling.

Ed Harris's bad guy was quite morally interesting for a 90's action film.