A favourite for many film-fans of my generation, Point Break was one of those films I adored as a teenager (because, hello Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves!) and then grew to love even more as I got older and appreciated it for the genius it really is.
That this very testosterone-fuelled film is directed by a woman only makes it all the more brilliant, because it's bold and unapologetic and doesn't fit into any kind of pre-conceived notion of what a film directed by a woman is supposed to look like.
A story of bank robbery and surfing, Point Break is fun, intense, silly and dark. It's beautifully shot: there is some stunning hand-held camera work for an intimate, on-foot chase scene alongside but also equally impressive skydives and surfing sequences. (Swayze does one of the jumps on camera himself!)
Reeves and Swayze are a phenomenal pairing on screen, their performances enhanced by the support of Gary Busey, Lori Petty and the rest of the ex-presidents, and the pace never lulls, blending humour with drama and tension.
Unlike so many action films of recent years, this film blends the action flawlessly with great characterisation, a plot filled with twists and turns (and some quality one-liners!) and the captivating vision of this very talented director.
And there's just enough time left over to throw in a hint of cheese.
Perfection.
5*
See also: The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty (also directed by Bigelow)
Top Secret
The jokes are from the Airplane/Naked Gun school of humour and there are so many crammed into each scene you need to watch the film over and over again just to pick up on them. The plot revolves around a very young Val Kilmer, who plays Nick, an American rock 'n' roll star who is sent on a public relations project as he has been enlisted to sing for a concert in Germany - just as they are about to take over the world... Nick is soon mixed up in hostages, jails, the resistance movement and falling for the woman in the middle of it all - all while singing *yes he actually does the singing!* songs lovingly ripped from every Beach Boys classic.
The main humour of the whole film is that it pretends to take itself seriously. I'd say it has some of the greatest one-liners in cinema history - but I've seen Monty Python. It does come close though with lines like "I know a little German, he's sitting over there" and "Nick? What does that mean?" "I don't know my father thought of it while he was shaving."
Absolutely worth buying and watching over and over. Then when you think you can't watch it any more, invite friends over and make them watch it! :)
Point Break
Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, guns, jumping out of planes, surfing and half naked hotties. Need I say more?
Soapdish
Amazing amazing cast includes Kevin Kline, Robert Downey Junior, Sally Field, Teri Hatcher, Whoopi Goldberg... the list is endless. Takes the piss out of soap operas from behind the scenes of the fictitious soap opera "The Sun Also Sets" as life begins to immitate art.
Saved
Mandy Moore is hilarious alongside other brilliant young actors including the fab and all grown up Macauley Culkin. Set in a modern day "cool" Christian school it chronicles a bunch of teens as their lives take turns they could not have seen coming. Deals with acceptance, forgiveness, homosexuality and even Judaism all within a Christian school in the funniest, coolest way imaginable. Absolute comedy genius mixed with some real drama.
Battle Royale
A class of school children are put on an island and forced to kill each other. Brutal but fascinating and compelling from start to finish. Must see foreign film!
