The Lion King (1994) - #66

Empire top 301: #66

IMDb top 250: #75

Rating 9/10

Director: Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff

Writers: Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts & Linda Woolverton

Starring: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Whoopi Goldberg, Rowan Atkinson & Nathan Lane

"It means no worries for the rest of your days, it's our problem free philosophy. Hakuna Matata!"

The Lion king tells the story of Simba, the future King of the Pride Lands of Africa and his evil uncle Scar who is resentful of Simba as he replaces him as heir to the throne. Tricked by Scar into thinking he's killed his father, Simba leaves Pride Rock guilt ridden abandoning his responsibilities as King, leaving Scar to rule. 

I was 10 when The Lion King first came out. I remember seeing it at the cinema, getting very emotional when Mufasa died, being on the edge of my seat during the stampede and dancing along to the infectious soundtrack. I played the movie to death when we finally owned it on VHS. Nearly 20 years later I still adore this movie. It's a Disney classic.

Like so many Disney classics it's greatness lies in two things; the characters and the songs. It's songs written by Elton John and Tim Rice are so good and always have me singing along; from I Just Can't Wait To Be King & Circle of Life to the two stand outs for me Hakuna Matata and the Academy Award winning Can You Feel The Love Tonight. 

The Lion King boasts a superb all-star ensemble voice cast, led by the delicious tones of Mr Darth Vader himself James Earl Jones. The perfect choice for the majestic and powerful Mufasa. All the voices lent to The Lion King fit their characters perfectly from Rowan Atkinsons Zazu to Whoopi Goldbergs hyena Shenzi, but the real standout is Jeremy Irons as Scar, so charming and persuasive but with a real evil streak running through it. 

Scar is another perfect Disney villian, brilliantly voiced and written. It's really the supporting characters who steal the whole show; like Scar, and Timon and Pumba. They get the best lines and the best songs. The animation is very of it's time but it works, it's vintage yet classic Disney. 

The Lion King is a brilliant film, for the whole family and for me it's up there with The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beaty and The Beast as one of Disney's all time greats. 

Predator (1987) - #108

Empire top 301: #108
IMDb top 250: -

Rating 8/10

Director: John McTiernan
Writers: John Thomas & Jim Thomas
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura & Shane Black

"If it bleeds, we can kill it."

A team of commandos led by "Dutch" (Schwarzenegger) are dispatched into the Jungle on a mission to rescue a presidential cabinet minister who has been abducted by guerrilla forces. Unbeknownst to the group they are being hunted by an extraterrestrial killer, the Predator, who was jettisoned to earth by a space craft to hunt man for sport and collect their skulls as trophies. 

Had the Empire 500 list been compiled of movies based on critics choice only, this movie would never had made the cut. A lot of movies on the list wouldn't have made the cut. But I would say Predator is a bit of a Sci-Fi classic. I think it's a really well made action film and it's definitely stood the test of time. The movie is so quotable and features one of my favourite lines and delivery of a line ever...."you're one ugly motherfucker!"

I love the Jungle setting and think it's shot extremely well, some great cinematography. The score from Alan Silvestri is great and fits the tone of the movie perfectly. I still love the now iconic Predator costume, designed by Stan Winston and think it to be one the greatest movie monster creations ever. There are some excellent action scenes in the movie, complete with lots of explosions and gore and full of suspense. 

The whole cast does a pretty good job; it's not the kind of movie that calls for Oscar worthy scenery chewing. Arnold is perfectly cast as "Dutch" and he and Carl Weathers have some great scenes together. I love how macho the guys are and they all work well together and the dialogue they're given is really funny 

I like the pacing of the film and the fact the movie doesn't stop to explain anything, it's just all out action from the start. The tense final showdown between Dutch and The Predator is why the movie gets an 8 out of 10 for me. A definite classic. 

Aliens (1986) - #19

Empire top 301: #19
IMDB top 250: #60

Rating 10/10

Director: James Cameron
Writers: James Cameron, 
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Jenette Goldstein , Bill Paxton & Lance Henriksen

"Get away from her, you BITCH!" 

Set 57 years after the events of the first Alien movie, Ripley (Weaver) has been in a deep sleep drifting through space. After being rescued she tries to convince her employer of the disaster aboard the Nostromo. Her employer advises the planet LV-426 has been colonised. The company soon lose contact with the terraforming colony on LV-426 and dispatch a team of marines to the planet to investigate. After suffering constant nightmares about what happened aboard the Nostromo, Ripley wants to face her demons and agrees to go back to LV-426 and help the marines investigate what has happened. 

Where Scott's first Aliens film was all about atmosphere and build up, Cameron's Aliens is just all out action! Once the marines land on LV-426 and first encounter the Aliens it's pretty full on until the end of the movie. Like the first movie, this film has some great tense and suspenseful moments and some brilliant jumpy bits. It also has an amazing score and sound effects. 

The thing that makes Aliens score higher than Alien for me, is the characters. I think the supporting characters in Aliens are some of the strongest from any movie. Whilst Weaver's Ripley steals the show (more on her later), the rest of the cast are just as impressive and I absolutely love their characters. Hudson is my favourite and I think Paxton did a great job. Vasquez, Hicks and Bishop are also superbly written and portrayed. 

Sigourney Weaver is just amazing. Partly down to Weaver but also to Cameron who has managed to develop the character from a straight laced by the book, sort of frightened character to a strong, knows how to handle herself woman and make it believable. I think it's with Aliens that Ripley became the sort of template for the modern day action heroine! Weaver delivers a great performance and has some real acting scenes to sink her teeth into; each time I watch this movie I still find myself glued to the screen!

Cameron does carry over some of the tatics used in the first movie in terms of building the suspense with clever camera work but he also manages to show more of the Aliens and still make them scary. Cameron has just made a really fun, exciting movie and it's one that I can watch over and over again and never get bored. 

Alien (1979) - #21

Empire top 301: #21
IMDb top 250: #40

Rating 9/10

Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Dan O'Bannon & Ronald Shusett
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Ian Holm & John Hurt

"You are my lucky star. You... Lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky."

Commercial spaceship Nostromo is on a return trip home to earth carrying tons of mineral ore and 7 crew members in a deep sleep. The ship detects a transmission (possibly a distress call) from an unknown origin and awakes the crew to investigate, following orders stipulated in their contracts. The Nostromo lands on the planetoid and three members leave to investigate, they find a crashed alien ship where they discover a chamber full of eggs. Crew member Kane (Hurt) is attacked by a creature that latches onto his face when it hatches from it's egg. Foolishly, the three investigating crew members arrive back at the Nostromo with the Alien life form where it escapes and terrorises the shipmates. 

There's a bit of theme happening here, but I absolutely love this film and most it is down to the exceptional filmmaking of Ridley Scott. The guy is a genius and Alien is one of his greatest pictures. The atmosphere and sense of fear he brings to the movie with the remarkable camera work and editing is something that has and will be copied for years and years to come. Once the Alien is on board the Nostromo the tension never lets up, it's edge of your seat stuff to the end. 

The sound effects and music in Alien also play a big part in the atmosphere and tension. I've seen this movie so many times but the big "scare" scenes still make me jump out my seat because of the great use of sound. The movie is really claustrophobic and you really fear for Ripley and Co as this creature could be just around the corner. There's no where to run and as the brilliant tagline points out "In Space no one can hear you scream!" 

The fact that CGI wasn't used in the movie is also a massive plus. Scott had to really think outside the box in terms of camera angles and lighting to make the creature seem as scary as it should be. Nowadays it would be some ridiculous CGI Alien or full shot of a guy in a rubber suit (see AVP for more details) and it looks awful. The fact we never get full on shots of the Alien just adds to the atmosphere and the scares. 

Sigourney Weavers' Ripley is now iconic and rightly so. Here is a female character, who plays by the rule book but doesn't whine or seek revenge when she doesn't get her own way or is outranked. She just get's on with her duties for the protection of herself and her crew members. Whilst she was right not to let the investigating crew back on the ship with the alien, she doesn't rub it in their faces when things go tits up! She's a brilliant character and Weaver plays her beautifully. Not to mention she looks smoking in those little panties! The supporting cast including Jonesy are great too. 

Alien is a Sci-Fi classic and a must see! 

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - #28

Empire top 301: #28
IMDb top 250: #34

Rating 9/10

Director: James Cameron
Writers: James Cameron & William Wisher Jr. 
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, Joe Morton & Edward Furlong

"Hasta la vista, baby"

Set 10 years after the events in the first Terminator, another T-101 cyborg is sent back in time, but this time not to complete the previous failed mission to kill Sarah Connor but to protect her son John Connor from another more advanced and powerful Terminator, the T-1000. Sarah, John and the T-101 seek out Miles Dyson (no relation) who works for Cyberdyne to try and change the future by stopping him from creating new a microprocessor that will form the basis for Skynet. Reuniting Schwarzenegger and Hamilton from the first movie, T2 features the two working together and this adds a whole new spin on the story and was a brilliant decision.

Where the first movie was parts action and horror, T2 is just all out action; amazingly filmed action that you can see has influenced so many movies that have followed it. Again Cameron along with William Wisher Jr. has produced an amazing script, filled with even more memorable dialogue and genuine, real laugh out loud moments. There was a time many years ago when I was obsessed with this movie and I could recite every word. 

The film features some of the most amazing action set pieces ever and for the time some really unbelievable CGI. The dirt bike chase scene with the huge truck leaping from the road above down into a concrete flood channel is still spectacular, the kind of stunt where you watch and firstly think "wow", and then secondly "how did they do that?" T2 is much more violent than the first movie, however the fact the 'good' Terminator agrees not to kill people it doesn't feel as extreme. The special effects are amazing and they did a great job on the T-1000's shapeshifting and dissolving into liquid. 

Arnold is still amazing in the role that made him famous, the character has a complete shift in personality but Arnold still makes him menacing, funny and on this time out even a little sweet. I love the relationship between the Terminator and Edward Furlongs' John Connor. Furlong gives a really mature and great performance, although I forgot how screechy and squeaky his voice is at times. He too has some great lines..... "did you call moi, a dipshit?" for example! 

Linda Hamilton is like a completely new character in this movie, gone is the awful perm and constant screaming, replaced by a ripped bad ass chick, to rival Ellen Ripley, who knows how to handle herself. Not only does she look the part but her performance is much improved from T1. I still get goosebumps during the scene when she encounters Schwarzeneggers' Terminator again for the first time. Robert Patrick is a really cool villain and I love how they've reversed the roles, with the big bulky guy being the protector and the skinny scrawny guy being the villain and the more dangerous of the two. 

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a brilliant sci-fi action film; much better than the first. It's an 
absolute must see classic! 

The Terminator (1984) - #107

Empire top 301: #107

IMDb top 250: #174

Rating 8/10

Director: James Cameron

Writers: James Cameron

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton & Michael Biehn

"I'll be back!"

The franchise has now became more known for it's Arnie catchphrases (see above), poor sequels (not including T2) and on set meltdowns (remember Christian Bale's rant at some poor crew member), but the first Terminator released almost 30 years ago is a genuine landmark in Sci-Fi action/horror filmmaking. Schwarzenegger is a cyborg assassin sent back in time from the year 2029 to "Terminate" Sarah Connor (Hamilton), the mother of John Connor, who will grow up and lead humanity in the war against the machines.  Kyle Reese (Biehn) - a human - is also sent back in time to protect Sarah against the deadly cyborg. 

This is the movie that made James Cameron a real force in Hollywood and it's no surprise, his script is clever, interesting and quite dark with some brilliant, quotable dialogue (most, if not all said by Arnold) and his direction is great with bucket loads of tension and superb action set pieces. The special effects, animatronics and make-up do, at times, look a little dated by todays standards but the fact they did what they did with such little budget is astonishing. 

The acting is alright, if maybe a little bit hammy in places. Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast as the Terminator, a cyborg of few words but with a massive presence. The few words he does have are delivered brilliantly and hilariously and are so ingrained in pop culture that even if you've never seen the movie you know the quotes and you know who says them. Michael Biehn is a bit hammy at times but not a completely terrible performance and Linda Hamilton's shocking perm will distract you from any kind of performance she is giving, which on the whole is pretty good.

Now, I can't talk about The Terminator without talking about the amazing score. The film features one of the best electronic scores ever! The main theme by Brad Fiedel is instantly recognisable and once in your head you'll be humming it all day long. 

The Terminator is by no means a perfect film; it does look a bit dated now and the Sarah & Kyle romance seems a bit obvious and not needed however, it is a film filled with some great, tension filled, scary moments, some laugh out loud brilliant dialogue and a pitch perfect performance from Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's rightly so become a bit of a classic and it's definitely one to watch! 

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) - #94

Empire top 301: #94
IMDb top 250: #153

Rating 10/10

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writers: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen, Vivica A. Fox & Lucy Liu

"This - is what - you get - for fucking - around - with Yakuzas! Go home to your mother!"

What better time to watch this movie than the 10th anniversary of it's release. Quentin's 4th film Kill Bill, is the story of The Bride and her mission to seek out and kill the members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad who attacked her and left her for dead on her wedding day. KIll Bill is just another classic on the list of flawless films made by Mr Tarantino. The movie is beautifully shot and written and edited and acted and scored. 

As with all Tarantino films the writing, especially the dialogue is outstanding; instantly quotable and perfectly delivered by his actors. His direction is beyond superb, each and every shot you can imagine was thoroughly thought out and is executed brilliantly. It just looks so damn good. His homage to Kung-Fu, Spaghetti Westerns and Anime is done perfectly, right down to the smallest detail. Yes it's excessively violent and a bit sick and twisted but the beauty is it's done with such a great sense of humour! QT has given us a gorgeous, intelligent action film and I love it more after each and every viewing. 

The cast are outstanding; Uma Thurman carries the movie brilliantly and I truly believe her efforts should have been rewarded with an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actress. She is amazing in her dialogue filled scenes and that blood-curdling scream she lets out when she believes her baby is dead would have been a perfect clip to play at the Oscars. Uma is just as believable in her fight/stunt scenes and gives it everything she's got, a great assassin. Whilst Vivica A. Fox doesn't have a lot of screen time, she certainly packs a punch when she is on screen, her "chat" with The Bride is fantastic and has provide my friends and I with enough quotage to last a lifetime. Lucy Liu is fierce as O-Ren Ishii and her head waving scene is just classic Tarantino! My favourite supporting character is Daryl Hannah's Elle Driver but more on her later!!

Again, as with all Tarantino productions the soundtrack is AMAZING and every song chosen fits it's scene perfectly. I love Tarantino's way of having the song play at just the right time. There are various techniques used in this movie and they're carried out exquisitely, the Anime used during the Origins of O-Ren Ishii is beautiful and fits the feel of the movie and the use of black and white to colour is great. The Showdown at House of Blue Leaves chapter is just EPIC in every sense of the word and looks just as awesome now as it did 10 years ago. It's classic QT!!!

I would have put Kill Bill: Vol. 1 higher up the list than it actually placed but it totally deserves it's place on both Empire's & IMDb's greatest movie lists. It's exceptional filmmaking. Now Quentin, it's been 10 years, how long do we have to wait for Nikki Bell to exact revenge on The Bride?