Ten films that get me

Level Four Lockdown: Day Fifty-Two

Curfew. 9 p.m

Mood: Nice and level - the walk helped

Black and White Photo Challenge: Day Twenty-Three

I was talking to a new friend the other night and we got onto many topics, one of them being film.

I'm missing going to the cinema like I'd miss my right arm if it was gone. Those wonderful stories, the dialogue, the pretty places (and not so pretty places you get to go), the choc tops. Oh all of it. I just miss it all.

But my friend and I then got onto our favourite films. Those films that just get you - or you get them. Unfortunately, my friend hadn't heard of some of these films. As we're in lockdown, I can't get many of them over to him from the DVD collection (though most can be found on streaming services). But I'm having him compile a list of films, that if I was to get to know him better, these films would represent me. I'm a bit screwed if he puts down films like The Godfather, Blade Runner or Braveheart - still haven't seen them.

In return, here's a list of films which get me at a cellular level. Films which I love and cherish because I just get them. And they get me.

And hopefully I'll get my beloved cinema back soon - because, hell, I miss it.

1. Garden State (2004)

Zach Braff's writing and directing about a man going back to New Jersey for his mother's funeral after many years away. Life isn't going that well for Andrew. Coming home, things start to look up. This is quirky, funny and bittersweet all at once. Natalie Portman is sensational. The scene with the wallpaper, memorable. It's a very human film showing people at their best and their worst.

2. Bull Durham (1988)

Little known fact, but I'm a huge fan of Kevin Costner baseball films. But forget Field of Dreams - if you want the best of them, then I go for Bull Durham. Stellar cast - Costner as Crash Davis, a washed up catcher brought in to babysit Tim Robbins rather dim Ebby Calvin 'Nuke' Le Loosh. Susan Sarandon plays Annie Savoy, a baseball tragic, teacher and Nuke's bit on the side. It's fun, it's funny. It's very human and this is my go to movie when I need leveling out or cheering up. Just seeing Costner paint Sarandon's toenails is enough to make me melt.

3. Donnie Darko (2001)

This love song to the eighties is a complete headspin. The blurb on imdb.com doesn't do it justice.

'After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes."

Warning, the crimes are really mild. But it is so much more than this. Jake Gyllenhaal in his first starring role is brilliant as Donnie.

'The bunny still freaks me out. But it's one of those cult films that you either love or hate. I love it. It's brilliant. Patrick Swayze's cameo is part of the perfection. You'll be thinking about it for weeks after.

4. Pride (2014)

An English film had to sneak its way into this list. There are plenty to choose from - Their Finest, Brassed Off, Kinky Boots, What We Did on Our Holiday, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Calvary, Truly. Madly, Deeply, The Life of Brian, Brazil, Brief Encounter, Trainspotting among many others. But I'm givng this to Pride - a film about a group of LGBTIQ folk who go all out to help the striking miners in Wales. Dominic West, Andrew Scott, Paddy Considine, Bill Nighy, Ben Schnetzer and George McKay are a part of this sleeper hit. It's got a killer soundtrack and a gorgeous heart. Like most British films. (and Today's seventies song shows it in the context of the movie)

5. Closer (2004)

A film of one of my favourite plays. It also has Clive Owen in it. Killer script. Set in London. What more do I need?

6. The Boys are Back (2009)

If you want to know where I come from, this is the film. Other than it has Clive Owen in it, it was filmed around Myponga, where I grew up and Sellicks Beach, my most favourite beach in the world. It just reminds me of home.

7. Henry V (Branagh's Version) (1989)

A good Shakespeare had to find its way into this list. I saw this eight times in the cinema. It's fabulous - mind you, any of Branagh's Shakespeare films are wonderful, especially his four hour Hamlet. But tis one has a special place in my heart. I know it nearly by rote.

8. Three Colours: Blue (1993)

Exquisite film. An allegory on grief. My favourite of the Three Colours Trilogy and probably one of my most cherished films ever. It's French. It makes you feel deeply. The music is sublime. It has Juliette Binoche. It is just wonderful.

9. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

It's a near perfect film. Sad, violent, surprising. Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell deserved their Oscars for their work on this film. Sublime script. Pretty to look at. Dreadfully sad in many ways. If you haven't seen it, give it a go. it's incredible. My only criticism of the film comes with Abbie Cornish's accent, which is all over the place. And I will never look at ABBA in the same way again.

10. The Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

I love anything Taika Waititi puts out - and this is glorious. And very, very funny. New Zealand produces some extraordinary cinema. This is one of those films. Because they couldn't get the rights to Happy Birthday, which wasn't public domain at the time, they do their own version. It's brilliant.