1. Dominic Ede:

    With first term already swiftly underway, I’m sure many of you will be unsure what to do with all this free time you have. To ease your concern we’ve created our lists of top 5 films with a little bit of something for everyone.

    First, cutting our favourite films down to a list of five is difficult. As in Sophie’s Choice difficult. (Although, spoiler, this film will not be making an appearance). Some films that are close to our hearts haven’t made it into this spread, and if given the space, I’m almost certain we could fill The Felix entirely, but that would be a little too self-indulgent. We’d also like to add that there is a big difference between our favourite films, and what we think is a good film; if we were to make a list of what we believe are the 5 best films ever made, I don’t think there would be too much similarity between these. With this sweeping disclaimer as to avoid any angry emails from students professing their love for Citizen Kane and Vertigo, let’s get into our favourite 5’s.

    To begin I’ll say a bit about myself; I’m a third-year physics student and spend most of my time between Blackett and the BFI. You can probably catch me napping in the JCR between bouts of restless frustration for labs, and if you ever see me about campus, I’m always more than happy to talk anything film. Now onto the good stuff.

    • Tokyo Story

    Without a doubt one of the most honest and heart-wrenching portrayals of a family that has ever existed on screen, Tokyo Story has stood for over 65 years as a pillar in Japanese film making. Following two grandparents as they travel to Tokyo to visit their disconnected children who’ve grown distant over the years, we’re unapologetically taken through their time in the city. Yasujirō Ozu gives us a master class in storytelling, which through his minimalistic approach to shooting, we’re left with the bare bones of the dialogue with the actors taking the centre stage. Where a lesser film would have played heavily on our sentimental triggers creating melodrama, Tokyo Story instead gives us a sincere and honest film that lets the weight of the character’s actions hang heavily over the viewer. It’ll make you reconsider your family values and, in the process, leave you weeping, this emotional feature had to make it onto my list

    • Rushmore

    Rushmore is just a film that hits all the right notes for me; it’s brilliantly written, quietly funny, and with a soundtrack to please even the Music Editors, it’s my Rushmore. Wes Anderson’s second feature follows eccentric student Max (Jason Schwartzman) through a year in Rushmore School, mixing a blend of wit, drama, and romance to emerge as (what I believe) is Anderson’s best. If you’ve seen even one of Anderson’s films, you’ll be starkly aware of the attention to detail he takes for the aesthetics of a scene, yet Rushmore comes a whisker before he developed his sugary-sweet style. Whilst still carefully crafted, it’s a little more rugged around the edges than the likes of Grand Budapest and Moonrise, and with the perfectly imperfect Schwartzman and Murray leading the cast, I’ll be the first student enrolling at Rushmore next year.

    • Lady Bird

    It would have been difficult to make to the end of 2017 without having had Lady Bird mentioned to you, along with the eminent buzz around Greta Gerwig. For her solo directorial debut, Gerwig tells the coming-of-age story of Christine McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) growing up in Sacramento, and follows the uneven relationship with her mother (Laurie Metcalf). The centrepiece of this film for me are the highly observant and expertly written interactions between the people, creating one of the most heart-warming and poignant films of the 21st century. With a powerhouse performance from Metcalf mixed with an eclectic score (that car scene bowls me over every time) and not to mention the final scene (which is one of the most touching and accurate portrayals of nostalgia I’ve ever seen) this is a film that sits close to my heart.

    • Midnight in Paris

    Now I know Woody Allen has a plethora of films to choose from; Annie Hall, Love and Death, Manhattan to name a few, but none of these films quite grip me like Midnight in Paris. With Owen Wilson roaming the streets of 1920’s Paris, doing his best Woody Allen impression, I can’t help but get lost in the same world that he finds himself in every night. Taken from Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, the fairy tale portion of this story lends itself to brilliant writing (as can be expected of Allen) with the likes of Fitzgerald and Stein being brought back to life. This fairy tale world makes me long for a time I never knew, and a place I’ve never been, and for that it will always be one of my favourite films.

    • Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

    Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu knows how to make a film. His vision for a feature made to look as though it’s in one take is flawlessly executed and exceedingly immersive, whilst still grounding itself with an outstanding story. With the lack of many (visible) cuts I can only find myself holding onto every word of every scene as we’re submerged into the world of washed-out actor Riggan Thomson, along with the inner monologue of his darkest thoughts inhabited by Birdman. With a jazz drum-based original soundtrack, we’re forced into this feeling of constant movement, giving rise to a building and climactic end to the film that left me exhilarated yet satisfied after 2 hours of this deeply dark satire.

  2. Charlotte Arrand:

    To introduce myself, I’m Charlotte, a struggling third year physicist and infamous napper, who would like to call herself a fan of film, but realistically falls asleep midway through every film she watches. Don’t expect these short reviews to be well written; most of these films I watched years ago and am struggling to say anything that isn’t incredibly generic, but I loved them and that’s all that matters. An honourable mention goes to Bridget Jones’ Diary, which I’ve watched a million times, and took a lot of strength for me not to include in this list – take from that what you want.

    • The Grand Budapest Hotel

    Initially I was torn on placing a Wes Anderson film in my top five, but seeing as though he is a large part of the reason I’m interested in film today, it only felt right. Admittedly, this was a fight between Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom and Grand Budapest; Rushmore I find the most hilarious, Moonrise Kingdom has the most sentiment attached, but ultimately The Grand Budapest Hotel won, as when I watched it five years ago it ignited an instant love for not only Anderson, but film in general and I have since re-watched it many times. I’m sure everyone has heard of it, but if you haven’t, I implore you to watch this immensely funny, superbly acted and wonderfully attractive film.

    • Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

    I just love this film. I love it so much that wherever I move, the first decorative effort I make is plastering my gigantic film poster on the bedroom wall. In my opinion, Kubrick’s greatest film, Dr. Strangelove is my immediate answer whenever anyone asks what my favourite film is, and if someone ever asks what I think the greatest film of all time is, it’s probably still the same response. With Peter Sellers taking three major roles under his wing, including the titular role, you can do nothing but praise this versatile actor three times over. Wild from start to finish and saturated with some of the most absurd, but genius, characters, this cold war satire released in 1964 hasn’t really aged at all and is still as hilarious today.

    • Mustang

    Mustang is the very well regarded first feature film of Turkish director Deniz Gamze Ergüven. The shortest way to describe this film would be to say think The Virgin Suicides, but better. The story follows five orphaned young sisters raised by their grandmother and abusive uncle in a conservative Turkish village. After being caught playing with their male classmates, they are dragged out of school, locked inside the house and arranged to be married off oldest to youngest. As heart wrenching as it is watching the childhoods of these independent young women being snatched away, the film is scattered with some warm, sometimes even funny, moments and I finished this film feeling incredibly touched.

    • The Before Trilogy

    Comprised of Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013), I guess I’m cheating by putting the entire trilogy on my list, but in my mind they’re not separate (although if I had to pick one, Before Sunset would come out on top). Starring Ethan Hawke as Jesse and Julie Delpy as Celine, this is a story of how a chance and brief encounter permanently changed their lives. Both characters are so convincing and played so seamlessly that by the end of the trilogy, you feel like you know them well, despite the fact each film is only set over the course of a few hours, 9 years apart. Lacking a central storyline and focused entirely on the continuous conversation of these characters, you would think it would be easy to get bored, yet I found myself hanging onto every word that was said. Violently romantic, it will make you want to fall in love and have someone fall in love with you.

    • Frances Ha

    Frances Ha has to be one of the most loveable films I’ve ever seen. With the wonderful and naturally comedic Greta Gerwig playing Frances, a (not very good) dancer with very little direction but an admirable spirit for life, this is the product for a most endearing main character. The film is simple, highlighted with its black and white cinematography and not an awful lot of plot, but perfectly so. Watching Frances struggle through life in New York, it has all the potential to be desolate and depressing, however with her positive and bouncy personality you find yourself laughing along with her. I think it’s fair to say that by the end of it I wanted to see life a little bit more like Frances, but was also desperate for a friend like her.

  3. Matthew Leontsinis

    Hello, Felix Reader! My name is Matthew and I will be one of your three film editors for the coming year. I am first year student, so still new to the university and I’m really enjoying it so far. My degree course is Physics with a Year Abroad, hoping to study somewhere in France (where there’s an especially good cinema scene) or Switzerland in my third year.

    Film is an eclectic form of artistic and existential expression. It is distinguished from similar media such as musical theatre by its uniquely universal appeal and influence on popular culture. I have no particular requirements when it comes to the silver screen: I think that one can almost always tell a good picture when one sees it based on a variety of factors, such as cinematography, pacing, storyline and general atmosphere. Certainly, I am partial to a few blockbusters and I do not support the view that these are necessarily of a lower calibre. The following are a selection of my favourite films which you definitely watch.

    • Unforgiven

    This unconventional early ‘90’s Western may have featured and been directed by Clint Eastwood, but it is markedly different in style and tone from the Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960’s directed by Sergio Leone. The film focuses less on the action, complex storylines and the general glamorisation of outlaw life in the Wild West. Unforgiven explores the darker side of ‘cowboy’ culture. Its pacing is slow; depictions of violence are drawn-out and brutally realistic; the mood of the film is sombre and heavy. In a departure from Eastwood’s much-played role as a dashing young gunslinger, he plays an ageing, widowed bandit repentant of his younger days. Accompanied by Morgan Freeman as his equally grizzled former partner, Gene Hackman as savagely sadistic sheriff ironically named ‘Little Bill’ and Richard Harris as the arrogant, UK-born gunfighter ‘English Bob’, it is hardly surprising it won Oscars for Best Picture, Director and Supporting Actor (Gene Hackman). Watch for its masterful acting, compelling storyline and thoughtful take on the human condition in the Wild West.

    • 2001: A Space Odyssey

    It would be hard to have a list of favourite pictures without one directed by the indelible Stanley Kubrick, widely considered to be one of, if not the, greatest filmmakers of all time. For me, although a slightly clichéd pick, Space Odyssey is his masterwork. Aside from its standalone excellence, Kubrick introduces many original ideas in this work which have since gone on to revolutionise the Sci-Fi genre which I particularly enjoyed. These include the stark contrast between scenes with sweeping classical scores such as the iconic opening (Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra) and scenes filled only by silence or ambient noise, as well the notion of AI overtaking mankind. The plot and themes are complex and fascinating – this is a film to watch twice. It is a must-see for its tense, meticulously crafted scenes, enthralling (if not unusual) cinematography and a greater understanding of Sci-Fi pictures in general.

    • The Devil’s Backbone

    This little-known feature by Guillermo del Toro has been described by the man himself as the spiritual prequel to his later magnum opus, Pan’s Labyrinth. The film possesses some of the typical traits of a del Toro production, such as an imaginative, child-led narrative, a backdrop featuring war and aspects of the supernatural playing key roles. Overall, however, this eerie, pared-down, (relatively) low-budget ghost story has a distinctly different atmosphere to his larger, well-established blockbusters. I enjoyed watching this film for its balance of gothic horror and underlying sadness, well-handled by del Toro through the hazy, half-understanding eyes of a child. Only available in Spanish with subtitles, it is worth seeing as an unconventional ghost tale less interested in obvious thrills.

    • The Godfather

    Considered by many to the greatest film of all time, I love this picture from Coppola for its brilliant combination of a highly atmospheric soundtrack, effective acting and the richness of its set pieces, narratives and character profiles. The three-hour long piece of cinema takes the viewer through every dimension: it has action, meandering, panoramic frames, crime and corruption, tension, drama, death, resolution – yet it never feels overdone or badly paced. The character arcs are satisfying, and the story gives a fascinating insight into the world of organised crime in 1940s USA, as well as inspiring reflection on the emptiness of violence and capturing the state of big-city culture at the time. Then there’s the Marlon Brando impressions. A highly entertaining, essential film.

    • La Haine

    This 1995 black-and-white French picture is unlikely to be something most readers have seen but gives a sobering glimpse into the menacing undertones of ‘90s French society. It is a piece of realist cinema, shot almost like a documentary, following an instrumental 20 hours in the lives of three recalcitrant, downtrodden French youths from immigrant families living in the impoverished banlieue of France. It is an important, if not depressing, work looking at the standoff between police and violent, disillusioned members of the poorer, minority areas of France. Disparity between them and the rest of France and the ensuing hostility is examined, both in terms of wealth and perceived social class. The characters in this film, designed to resemble many members of the French public, are shown to often lead completely aimless lives, born in harsh surroundings, within an unknown wider world where no-one seems to care about their struggles and continued failure seems inevitable, removing any notion of motivation and purpose. There is some optimism in the form of the faith in the goodness of human nature; a moment when one of the characters is driven to commit a terrible crime but does not. The opening line of this feature, however, ‘it’s about a society in freefall’ remains a beautifully tragic summary of its main theme. Unfortunately, only the story is a work of fiction.