The Fighter is the first of two David O. Russell films on this list. Brilliantly acted and wonderfully directed, this is one of the best sports films ever made as it follows the Rocky mould of being as much about the character's dependence on boxing then it is about the actual sport.
Special mention to Mark Wahlberg who not only produces the whole thing but gives a wonderfully restrained performance which allows him to flesh out his character whilst allowing his co stars to shine.
There isn't a lot I can say that hadn't already been said about any of Hitchcock's movies. Brilliantly original story with a pitch perfect cast, this is one of two films by the director on this list and one I've only seen very recently. A must see. Or not. Depends what you're in to.
Number 100 on the list is Todd Solondz's Welcome to the Dollhouse starring Heather Matarazzo and Eric Mabius from
1995.
This is the only Solondz film on this list and the only one of his films I've enjoyed enough to consider it five star. Although it has the bleakness of his other work such as Storytelling or Happiness there's something about this tale of an ugly ducking striving to be liked by anyone that will pay her attention to which people can relate. Its heartbreaking at times to see Matarazzo's Dawn going about her life and being treated as more of an inconvenience by everyone including parents and teachers. I would consider it a positive that Solondz has never strayed away from his downbeat style of narrative in his later films and Welcome to the Dollhouse would be a perfect companion piece to his 2012 offering Dark Horse in which Jordan Gelber plays something of a male middle aged version of Dawn who is also resented by his parents and outshone by a spoilt younger sibling.
The downfall of Dark Horse is its last act which strays into the fantastical which also accounted for some of the many problems with the director's 2009 Life During Wartime. Dollhouse never flinches from a realistic portayal of life as a unliked, socially awkward outsider which most people have experienced themselves. Not me of course. How dare you?
A slight deviation from normal proceedings means i shant be updating about movies I've recently watched, rather a run down of my favourite 100 films of all time. Starting with 100 finishing at 4. Or 1 depending how rebellious Im feeling. All these films are in this list purely because i rate them as five star movies and after a tediously lengthy and nerdy process I have managed to put them in an order that somewhat resembles a coherent summary of my feelings towards them. Enjoy. Or don't. See if i care. Please enjoy.
