Posted on

The 100 Greatest Movies Ever Made

After a month of polling in 2015, Flicks received votes from 3,000 New Zealanders which were then compiled into the 100 favourite films of all time. The Shawshank Redemption, which was written and directed by Frank Darabont, took the top spot. Max Max: Fury Road was the most recent film to make the top 100.

  • 1. The Shawshank Redemption
  • 2. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
  • 3. The Godfather
  • 4. Pulp Fiction
  • 5. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  • 6. The Dark Knight
  • 7. Forrest Gump
  • 8. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
  • 9. The Matrix
  • 10. Goodfellas
  • 11. 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • 12. Casablanca
  • 13. Gone with the Wind
  • 14. Fight Club
  • 15. Titanic
  • 16. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  • 17. Blade Runner
  • 18. The Princess Bride
  • 19. Jurassic Park
  • 20. Saving Private Ryan
  • 21. Inception
  • 22. Avatar
  • 23. The Sound of Music
  • 24. The Avengers
  • 25. Alien
  • 26. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  • 27. Back to the Future
  • 28. Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • 29. Up
  • 30. Schindler’s List
  • 31. Jaws
  • 32. Citizen Kane
  • 33. Aliens
  • 34. The Lion King
  • 35. The Godfather: Part II
  • 36. The Green Mile
  • 37. Braveheart
  • 38. The Wizard of Oz
  • 39. Interstellar
  • 40. Life is Beautiful
  • 41. Fargo
  • 42. Lawrence of Arabia
  • 43. Apocalypse Now
  • 44. Love Actually
  • 45. Mad Max: Fury Road
  • 46. Guardians of the Galaxy
  • 47. The Notebook
  • 48. Rear Window
  • 49. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
  • 50. Labyrinth



  • 51. Dirty Dancing
  • 52. Top Gun
  • 53. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
  • 54. The Departed
  • 55. The Usual Suspects
  • 56. Amélie
  • 57. Pretty Woman
  • 58. Gladiator
  • 59. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
  • 60. Vertigo
  • 61. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
  • 62. Se7en
  • 63. Seven Samurai
  • 64. There Will Be Blood
  • 65. Grease
  • 66. Ghost
  • 67. The Silence of the Lambs
  • 68. Pitch Perfect
  • 69. Die Hard
  • 70. Ben-Hur
  • 71. Reservoir Dogs
  • 72. Donnie Darko
  • 73. No Country For Old Men
  • 74. Memento
  • 75. Psycho
  • 76. Toy Story
  • 77. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
  • 78. A Clockwork Orange
  • 79. The Terminator
  • 80. Inglourious Basterds
  • 81. Spirited Away
  • 82. The Wolf of Wall Street
  • 83. Once Upon a Time in the West
  • 84. To Kill a Mockingbird
  • 85. Rocky
  • 86. The Shining
  • 87. Boy
  • 88. The Fifth Element
  • 89. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
  • 90. The Blues Brothers
  • 91. Armageddon
  • 92. The Great Escape
  • 93. Boyhood
  • 94. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
  • 95. Léon the Professional
  • 96. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
  • 97. Singin’ in the Rain
  • 98. Bridesmaids
  • 99. The Graduate
  • 100. Breakfast at Tiffany’s



Posted on

Time Out’s 100 Best Action Movies of All Time

In 2016 Time Out New York polled over 50 experts in the field, including TONY contributors, directors, actors and stunt actors, to list their top action films. The results were then compiled into the 100 best action movies of all time. The list includes Oscar winning classics, sci-fi masterpieces, foreign films and martial-arts movies. Those polled included Die Hard director John McTiernan and stunt woman Zoë Bell (who worked on the two Kill Bill movies). 

1 Die Hard 1988 John McTiernan
2 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 Steven Spielberg
3 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991 James Cameron
4 Lat sau san taam 1992 John Woo
5 Mad Max 2 1981 George Miller
6 Enter the Dragon 1973 Robert Clouse
7 Ging chaat goo si 1985 Chi-Hwa Chen, Jackie Chan
8 The Wild Bunch 1969 Sam Peckinpah
9 Shichinin no samurai 1954 Akira Kurosawa
10 Aliens 1986 James Cameron
11 The Matrix 1999 Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
12 RoboCop 1987 Paul Verhoeven
13 First Blood 1982 Ted Kotcheff
14 Wong Fei Hung II: Nam yee tung chi keung 1992 Hark Tsui
15 The Bourne Ultimatum 2007 Paul Greengrass
16 Predator 1987 John McTiernan
17 Ong-bak 2003 Prachya Pinkaew
18 The Terminator 1984 James Cameron
19 Face/Off 1997 John Woo
20 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 2003 Quentin Tarantino
21 The General 1926 Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman
22 Serbuan maut 2011 Gareth Evans
23 Bullitt 1968 Peter Yates
24 Dip huet seung hung 1989 John Woo
25 Lethal Weapon 1987 Richard Donner
26 ‘A’ gai wak 1983 Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
27 Jui kuen II 1994 Chia-Liang Liu
28 Heat 1995 Michael Mann
29 Shao Lin san shi liu fang 1978 Chia-Liang Liu
30 C’era una volta il West 1968 Sergio Leone
31 Point Break 1991 Kathryn Bigelow
32 Ying hung boon sik 1986 John Woo
33 Rambo: First Blood Part II 1985 George P. Cosmatos
34 Oldeuboi 2003 Chan-wook Park
35 Fei lung mang jeung 1988 Corey Yuen, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
36 Wo hu cang long 2000 Ang Lee
37 Commando 1985 Mark L. Lester
38 The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 Michael Curtiz, William Keighley
39 Wu Lang ba gua gun 1984 Chia-Liang Liu
40 The French Connection 1971 William Friedkin
41 The Bourne Identity 2002 Doug Liman
42 Léon 1994 Luc Besson
43 Dao 1995 Hark Tsui
44 True Lies 1994 James Cameron
45 Ben-Hur 1959 William Wyler
46 SPL: Sha po lang 2005 Wilson Yip
47 The Professionals 1966 Richard Brooks
48 Yip Man 2008 Wilson Yip
49 Mission: Impossible 1996 Brian De Palma
50 Kung fu 2004 Stephen Chow




51 L’arrivée d’un train à La Ciotat 1896 Auguste Lumière, Louis Lumière
52 Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo 1966 Sergio Leone
53 Kuai can che 1984 Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
54 Spartacus 1960 Stanley Kubrick
55 Rambo 2008 Sylvester Stallone
56 Dung fong tuk ying 1987 Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
57 Bai ga jai 1981 Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
58 300 2006 Zack Snyder
59 Dou fo sin 2007 Wilson Yip
60 Le salaire de la peur 1953 Henri-Georges Clouzot
61 Ging chaat goo si juk jaap 1988 Jackie Chan
62 The Dirty Dozen 1967 Robert Aldrich
63 North by Northwest 1959 Alfred Hitchcock
64 Runaway Train 1985 Andrey Konchalovskiy
65 Zatôichi 2003 Takeshi Kitano
66 Qun long xi feng 1989 Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
67 Star Wars 1977 George Lucas
68 Unleashed 2005 Louis Leterrier
69 From Russia with Love 1963 Terence Young
70 Vanishing Point 1971 Richard C. Sarafian
71 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1984 Steven Spielberg
72 Ronin 1998 John Frankenheimer
73 Thunderball 1965 Terence Young
74 The Rock 1996 Michael Bay
75 Ging chaat goo si III: Chiu kup ging chaat 1992 Stanley Tong
76 The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957 David Lean
77 Ying xiong 2002 Yimou Zhang
78 Dirty Harry 1971 Don Siegel
79 Raging Bull 1980 Martin Scorsese
80 The Dark Knight 2008 Christopher Nolan
81 Lung hing foo dai 1986 Jackie Chan, Eric Tsang
82 The Long Kiss Goodnight 1996 Renny Harlin
83 The Avengers 2012 Joss Whedon
84 Fong sai yuk 1993 Corey Yuen
85 Machete 2010 Ethan Maniquis, Robert Rodriguez
86 Cheung foh 1999 Johnnie To
87 Scarface 1983 Brian De Palma
88 The Magnificent Seven 1960 John Sturges
89 Xia dao Gao Fei 1992 Ringo Lam
90 Breakdown 1997 Jonathan Mostow
91 Sorcerer 1977 William Friedkin
92 Xian si jue 1983 Siu-Tung Ching
93 Die xue jie tou 1990 John Woo
94 Jûsan-nin no shikaku 2010 Takashi Miike
95 Miami Vice 2006 Michael Mann
96 Swiri 1999 Je-kyu Kang
97 Romancing the Stone 1984 Robert Zemeckis
98 Kozure Ôkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma 1972 Kenji Misumi
99 War 2007 Philip G. Atwell
100 Gladiator 2000 Ridley Scott



Posted on

15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than the Originals

In March 2016, PLAYBOY magazine’s James Charisma compiled a list of what they considered to be the best 15 sequels that are actually better than the originals and the choices were limited to direct sequels. Putting to one side the list order there are two picks that are questionable. The debate about which is the best of the first two Godfather films has raged on for over 40 years and there are strong arguments on both sides, however I would never consider Aliens as superior to Alien. The sequel probably wins on entertainment value but in my opinion Scott’s film wins on aesthetics, atmosphere, narrative and its ability to scare an audience witless.

15. Addams Family Values (1993)
Sequel to The Addams Family (1991)

14. Batman Returns (1992)
Sequel to Batman (1989)

13. 22 Jump Street (2014)
Sequel to 21 Jump Street (2012)

12. Evil Dead 2 (1987)
A Sequel to The Evil Dead (1981)

11. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
Sequel to Mad Max (1979)

10. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Sequel to Night of the Living Dead (1968)

9. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Sequel to Spider-Man (2002)

8. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Sequel to X-Men: First Class (2011)

7. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Sequel to Frankenstein (1931)

6. Aliens (1986)
Sequel to Alien (1979)

5. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
Sequel to Batman Begins (2005)

4. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Sequel to Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

3. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Sequel to Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)

2. THE GODFATHER, PART II (1974)
Sequel to The Godfather (1972)

1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Sequel to The Terminator (1984)



 

 

 

Posted on

Empire’s The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time (2008)

Following on from the October 2008 release of Empire Magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Movies of All Time, they released their list of the 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.  Tyler Durden from David Fincher’s Fight Club topped the list while Indiana Jones, so often number 1 in these sorts of polls, is placed 6th. A new list by Empire was released in 2015.

1. Tyler Durden (Fight Club)
2. Darth Vader (Star Wars Trilogy)
3. The Joker (The Dark Knight)
4. Han Solo (Star Wars Trilogy)
5. Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs)
6. Indiana Jones
7. The Dude (The Big Lebowski)
8. Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy)
9. Ellen Ripley (Alien Quadrology)
10. Vito Corleone (The Godfather)
11. James Bond
12. John McClane (Die Hard)
13. Gollum (The Lord of the Rings)
14. The Terminator
15. Ferris Bueller (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)
16. Neo (The Matrix trilogy)
17. Hans Gruber (Die Hard)
18. Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver)
19. Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction)
20. Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump)
21. Michael Corleone (The Godfather)
22. Ellis “Red” Redding (The Shawshank Redemption)
23. Harry Callahan (Dirty Harry)
24. Ash (Evil Dead)
25. Yoda (The Empire Strikes Back)
26. Ron Burgundy – Anchorman
27. Tony Montana – Scarface
28. Gandalf – the Lord of the Rings trilogy
29. Daniel Plainview – There Will Be Blood
30. Jigsaw – the Saw series
31. Aragorn – the Lord of the Rings trilogy
32. Jason Bourne – the Bourne trilogy
33. Tequila – Hardboiled
34. Rocky Balboa
35. Maximus Decimus Meridius – Gladiator
36. Harry Potter
37. Edward Scissorhands
38. Donnie Darko
39. Marty McFly – Back To The Future
40. Patrick Bateman – American Psycho
41. Mary Poppins
42. Alex DeLarge – A Clockwork Orange
43. The Man With No Name – spaghetti western trilogy
44. Peter Venkman – Ghostbusters
45. Amelie Poulain – Amelie
46. Anton Chigurh – No Country For Old Men
47. Blade
48. Tony Stark – Iron Man
49. Walter Sobchak – The Big Lebowski
50. Quint – Jaws




51. Serenity – Mal Reynolds
52. It’s a Wonderful Life – George Bailey
53. Cool Hand Luke – Luke
54. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)… – Luke Skywalker
55. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)… – Lt. Frank Drebin
56. Juno (2007) – Juno MacGuff
57. Wake-Up Ron Burgundy – Brick Tamland
58. Casablanca (1942) – Rick Blaine
59. GoodFellas (1990) – Tommy DeVito
60. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective – Ace Ventura
61. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – R.P. McMurphy
62. Léon: The Professional – Mathilda
63. WALL·E – Wall-E
64. Withnail & I – Withnail
65. Dodgeball – White Goodman
66. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 – The Bride
67. Blue Velvet (1986)… – Frank Booth
68. Napoleon Dynamite – Napolean Dynamite
69. The Usual Suspects – Keyser Soze
70. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) – Atticus Finch
71. Escape from New York (1981) – Snake Plisskin
72. V for Vendetta (2005) – V
73. The Shining (1980) – Jack Torrance
74. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – E.T.
75. Fargo (1996)… – Marge Gunderson
76. Back to the Future Part III (1990) – Dr. Emmett Brown
77. Shaun of the Dead (2004)… – Ed
78. Beverly Hills Cop – Axel Foley
79. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)… – Boba Fett
80. Psycho – Norman Bates
81. X-Men (2000) – Wolverine
82. Sin City – Marv
83. Reservoir Dogs – Mr. Blonde
84. The Matrix – Agent Smith
85. True Romance (1993) – Vincenzo Coccotti
86. Blade Runner (1982)… – Roy Batty
87. Dracula (1931)… – Dracula
88. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) – Jessica Rabbit
89. Star Wars – Princess Leia Organa
90. The Wizard of Oz – The Wicked Witch of the West
91. Gone with the Wind – Scarlett O’Hara
92. Clerks – Randall Graves
93. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)… – Martin Q. Blank
94. Toy Story – Buzz Lightyear
95. A Nightmare on Elm Street – Freddy Krueger
96. The Searchers (1956)… – Ethan Edwards
97. The Silence of the Lambs – Clarice Starling
98. Citizen Kane (1941) – Charles Foster Kane
99. 2001: A Space Odyssey – Hal-9000
100. Lethal Weapon (1987) – Martin Riggs

Empire Magazine (May, 2019) Avengers Endgame

Empire – England (subscription)

Empire Magazine (March 2019) Captain Marvel Cover

Empire Australasia (subscription)

Empire Magazine (December 2018) Review of the Year 2018 Featuring Infinity War




Posted on

The Greatest Sci-Fi Films of All Time By the Online Film Critics Society

In 2002, 115 members of the international association of the leading Internet-based cinema journalists were polled to produce the top 100 Sci-Fi Films of the Past 100 Years list. A terrific list on the whole but it’s interesting to see films like Highlander, the disappointing Until the End of the World and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension and yet no place for David Lynch’s Dune which despite its obvious flaws is still a visually interesting piece.

100 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
99 Slaughterhouse Five (1973)
98 Escape from New York (1981)
97 Time After Time (1979)
96 Andromeda Strain, The (1971)
95 Highlander (1986)
94 Rocky Horror Picture Show, The (1975)
93 Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, The (1984)
92 Men In Black (1997)
91 Fantastic Planet (Planète sauvage, La) (1973)
90 Until the End of the World (1991)
89 Village of the Damned (1960)
88 Starman (1984)
87 Seconds (1966)
86 THX 1138 (1970)
85 Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
84 Open Your Eyes (Abre los Ojos) (1997)
83 Total Recall (1990)
82 Silent Running (1971)
81 On the Beach (1959)
80 Invaders from Mars (1953)
79 eXistenZ (1999)
78 Time Bandits (1981)
77 Akira (1988)
76 Dawn of the Dead (1978)
75 Dead Zone, The (1983)
74 Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
73 Fantastic Voyage (1966)
72 Cell, The (2000)
71 Mad Max (1979)
70 Sleeper (1973)
69 Things to Come (1936)
68 They Live (1988)
67 Edward Scissorhands (1990)
66 Quatermass and the Pit (a.k.a. Five Million Years To Earth) (1967)
65 Strange Days (1995)
64 Superman: The Movie (1978)
63 Night of the Living Dead (1968)
62 Starship Troopers (1997)
61 Man Who Fell to Earth, The (1976)
60 Them! (1954)
59 Tron (1982)
58 Thing From Another World, The (1951)
57 Fifth Element, The (1997)
56 Stalker (1979)
55 Ghostbusters (1984)
54 Trip to the Moon, A (Le Voyage dans la Lune) (1902)
53 Altered States (1980)
52 Gattaca (1997)
51 Invisible Man, The (1933)




50 City of Lost Children, The (Cité des enfants perdus, La) (1995)
49 Independence Day (1996)
48 War of The Worlds, The (1953)
47 Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
46 Time Machine, The (1960)
45 Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
44 Fly, The (1986)
43 Pi (1998)
42 Videodrome (1983)
41 Truman Show, The (1998)
40 Incredible Shrinking Man, The (1957)
39 Frankenstein (1931)
38 Iron Giant, The (1999)
37 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
36 Donnie Darko (2001)
35 Dr. Strangelove (1964)
34 Alphaville (1965)
33 Abyss, The (1989)
32 Forbidden Planet (1956)
31 Robocop (1987)
30 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
29 Jurassic Park (1993)
28 Thing, The (1982)
27 Road Warrior, The (1981)
26 Solaris (1972)
25 A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
24 La Jetee (1962)
23 Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
22 King Kong (1933)
21 12 Monkeys (1995)
20 Contact (1997)
19 Dark City (1998)
18 Planet of the Apes (1968)
17 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
16 Terminator, The (1984)
15 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
14 Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951)
13 Back to the Future (1985)
12 Matrix, The (1999)
11 Aliens (1986)
10 Alien (1979)
9 Clockwork Orange, A (1971)
8 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
7 Brazil (1985)
6 Metropolis (1927)
5 E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
4 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
3 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
2 Blade Runner (1982)
1 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)