Atonement (2007) - ★★★★★

Director: Joe Wright
Writers: Ian McEwan (novel), Christopher Hampton (screenplay)
Stars: James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai, Juno Temple, Benedict Cumberbatch

Atonement is one of the most exquisite films I've ever seen. Its style and beauty is reminiscent of classic cinematic masterpieces, such as Gone With the Wind (1939) and Days of Heaven (1978). Yet it has a unique modern element that puts it in a league of its own. Seamus McGarvey's masterful cinematography deserves to be hailed as one of the greatest in cinematic history, whilst the haunting score by Dario Marianelli takes us to an unforgettable time in history, and heightens all the emotion that comes with the story and surroundings. Technically, Atonement is truly perfect. As for the story, performances, and overall effect the movie had on me personally, I say that it was equally as perfect.

Red Cliff: Part One (2008) - ★★★★½

Director: John Woo
Writers: John Woo, Khan Chan, Cheng Kuo, Heyu Sheng (screenplay), Guanzhong Luo (novel)
Stars: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang, Chen Chang, Wei Zhao, Shido Nakamura, Chiling Lin

Red Cliff is one of the most spectacular, breathtaking, epic films of all time. Every time I see this film, it leaves me in a state of awe. The cinematography is as beautiful as anything I've ever seen on film. The score by Taro Iwashiro is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard... it sends chills up my spine. The talented all-star cast managed to make these legendary war-lords and ladies appear every bit as powerful as their legend says. Let me tell you, Red Cliff is two and a half hours of thrilling action, handled with amazing artistry and graceful film-craftsmanship. To me, this movie is every bit as entertaining and epic as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. 

Lore (2012) - ★★★★★

Director: Cate Shortland
Writers: Cate Shortland, Robin Mukherjee (Screenplay), Rachel Seiffert (Novel)
Stars: Saskia Rosendahl, Kai-Peter Malina, Nele Trebs, Andre Frid, Mika Seidel, Ursina Ladi, Hans-Jochen Wagner

There's something about Lore that will stick in my mind forever. It's haunting, poignant, powerful, realistic, and very touching. I was in a sort of trans whilst watching this film. I felt so submersed into the story and the environment, it was like I was on the journey with the characters. The performances are flawless, the music is haunting and beautiful, the story maintains intrigue and urgency, and the cinematography reminded me of the always stunning films by Terrence Malick. I'm not sure what else to say, except that so far it is my favourite foreign language film of 2012.

The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) - ★★★

Director: Michael Curtiz
Writers: Michael Jacoby, Rowland Leigh, Alfred Lord Tennyson
Stars: Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHavilland, Patric Knowles, Donald Crisp, Nigel Bruce, David Niven, C. Henry Gordon, Spring Byington

The Charge of the Light Brigade is such an epic, sweeping film. It's entertaining, thrilling, and has its moments of humour and sadness. I adore Errol Flynn in this film. This is one of his most underrated roles, for he had so many ferocious and tender moments. The love-triangle romance is executed in a most cheesy fashion, but the scenes of war and strategy were truly masterful. There were two things I didn't like. One being the shaky and unconvincing performances by Olivia DeHavilland and Patric Knowles. The other reason being the despicable display of cruelty to horses in the final scene. It produced a very thrilling finale, but at the cost of causing unnecessary pain, suffering, and death to horses. If I put that out of my mind, then I'd call this a good film.

A Very Long Engagement (2004) - ★★★★½

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Writer: Guillaume Laurant, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Stars: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Marion Cotillard, Jodie Foster, Dominique Pinon

A Very Long Engagement is an absolutely beautiful film. Everything about it captivated me, from the horrors of war to the stubbornness of young lovers. Jean-Pierre Jeunet is most famous for his film Amelie, but in many ways this is his best work. Every single performance was stunning, surprising, and full of depth. Jeunet managed to combine romance and magic with the horrifying tragedy of WW1. It's quite a long film, yet it never loses sight of its purpose, which is the quest to find a loved one. You won't find many films as gorgeous and poignant as this one.

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) - ★★★★★

Director: William Wyler
Writers: MacKinlay Kantor (Novel), Robert E. Sherwood (Screenplay)
Stars: Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Fredric March, Harold Russell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Mayo, Cathy O'Donnel, Ray Collins

The Best Years of Our Lives really is a masterpiece. I fell in love with every one of these characters, whose lives were each touched by war. Every single performance is entirely memorable, because the characters each had time to develop and earn a place in your heart. Wyler would extend every scene of reflection just a little bit, to show us that little bit extra emotion from each person. I found it all to be so beautiful really. Slow, but beautiful.

300 (2006) - ★★½

Director: Zack Snyder
Writers: Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Michael Gordon (Screenplay), Frank Miller, Lynn Varley (Graphic Novel)
Stars: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Dominic West, Rodrigo Santoro, Michael Fassbender

300 is such a man's movie. Full of violence, blood, guts, and... half naked men? Well anyway, I didn't care much for this movie. It had stunning cinematography and awesome battle scenes, but I found it all to be overly ridiculous and cheesy. Gerard Butler wasn't very impressive, I imagine Russell Crowe would have been better for the part (if he had killer abs). This isn't necessarily a bad movie, it's just that nothing in it excited me. The film plateaued the whole way through, leaving me emotionless and scratching my head. I can see that many people got caught up in the epic battle scenes and insanely cheesy speeches... it just didn't do that for me.

Bent (1997) - ★★★½

Director: Sean Mathias
Writers: Martin Sherman (Screenplay and Play)
Stars: Clive Owen, Lothaire Bluteau, Brian Webber, Mick Jagger, Ian McKellen, Rupert Graves, Jude Law, Paul Bettany

I look back on Bent with a heavy heart. I'm sadder now than I was at the end of this movie. That's because the thought of the story is sadder than the actual movie itself. For the most part, it's a highly effective and powerful film that shows us the struggles of homosexuals in a Nazi-run Berlin. Then it sort of degenerates into an unconvincing ending, which left me wanting more. Even though the movie isn't fantastic, I will never forget it.

Game of Thrones: Season 3 (2013) - ★★★★½

Stars: Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Maisie Williams, Michelle Fairley, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Richard Madden, Alfie Allen, Rose Leslie, Gwendoline Christie, Natalia Tena, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (and many more amazing actors).

Where to start with Season 3? It's bloody brilliant of course, but that's to be expected. I guess you could say that the story just keeps getting better and better. I found myself more interested in this season than any other before it. Everything is still top-notch, especially the acting. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I was a little disappointed in this season. It's still the best show I've ever seen, but Season 3 lost a little bit of the spark that ignited Season 2 and Season 1. It's not necessarily the show's fault, but the story lacked the epicness of the previous seasons. (However, it had an ending that shocked me. It was beyond words).

Game of Thrones: Season 2 (2012) - ★★★★½

Stars: Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Emilia Clarke, Michelle Fairley, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Alfie Allen, Jack Gleeson, Richard Madden, Sibel Kekilli, Donald Sumpter, Gwendoline Christie, Rose Leslie, Natalie Tena, Joe Dempsie, John Bradley, Charles Dance

To put it simply, Season 2 of GoT was near perfection! New and mysterious characters are introduced, old and awesome characters are killed off! There are twists and turns in practically every episode, making the game extremely riveting. We're introduced to magic, supernatural creatures, wars and epic battles. After watching this season, I've finally been convinced that this is the greatest show of all time.

Legends of the Fall (1994) - ★★★½

Director: Edward Zwick
Writers: Jim Harrison (Novella), Susan Shilliday, William D. Wittliff (Screenplay)
Stars: Brad Pitt, Julia Ormond, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Henry Thomas, Karina Lombard, Tantoo Cardinal

You know what is most memorable about Legends of the Fall? The sheer handsomeness of Brad Pitt. Oh, and the movie wasn't bad either! It's old Hollywood romance meets beautiful cinematography meets good old fashion tragedy. It works for the most part, but lapses at times when trying to keep our interest. It's a sad but enjoyable cheesy drama.

Full Metal Jacket (1987) - ★★★★½

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Gustav Hasford (Novel), Stanley Kubrick (Screenplay)
Stars: Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Arliss Howard

Holy cow! Now this is a good movie! I've seen so many movies about the Vietnam war that they all began to look the same. Tonight I saw Full Metal Jacket for the first time, which was such a breath of fresh air. Not only is it one of the most thrilling movies I've ever seen, it's arguably the most quotable movie ever made. Throughout my life I've heard many sayings that came from this movie, yet I had no idea where they came from until now.

Come and See: or 'Idi i Smotri' (1985) - ★★★★★

Director: Elem Klimov
Writers: Ales Adamovich, Elem Klimov (Screenplay)
Stars: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova

This is the most relentless and incredible war film I have ever seen. Come and See is a movie that every single film fanatic should see. It makes Schindler's List look like a melodrama. We've seen many sides of World War II, here we see the side of the innocent Russian villagers. Over the course of the war, the Nazi's destroyed 628 Russian villages. This gives us an unflinching look at the torture that was inflicted on these people.

Zero Dark Thirty (2012) – ★★★★

Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Writers: Mark Boal
Stars: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Jennifer Ehle

Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock knows that Osama Bin Laden was the man behind the terrorist attack on 9/11. This is a movie that aims to reveal the long and arduous task that was to find and kill Bin Laden. Zero Dark Thirty is absolutely brilliant. It’s so thrilling that I found myself forgetting to breathe at times. It is meticulously acted by the stellar Jessica Chastain, with brilliant supporting performances. The cinematography in this film rivals Bigelow’s masterpiece, ‘The Hurt Locker.’ I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film, yet there were questions that weren’t answered.

The Invisible War (2012) – ★★★★

Director: Kirby Dick
Writers: Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering

The Invisible War is a very well made documentary showcasing testimonies of men and women who were victims of sexual-assault in the military. The facts that are presented are not only shocking, but infuriating. The interviews are incredibly heart-wrenching. This is a documentary that might just change the way the military handles cases of sexual-assault, which is why it is one of the best documentaries of 2012.

Paths of Glory (1957) - ★★★★★

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham, Jim Thompson (Screenplay). Humphrey Cobb (Novel)
Stars: Kirk Douglas, George Macready, Adolphe Menjou, Ralph Meeker, Timothy Carey

Up until this point, I have seen three perfect films. The first is Casablanca by Michael Curtiz. The second, High Noon by Fred Zinnemann. The third, Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa. I will now add Paths of Glory to this list. It's a pure masterpiece by arguably the greatest movie director of all time, Stanley Kubrick. The perfect acting, outstanding cinematography and great story made this a faultless and genius film.