The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy - For three wonderful years in the 2000s, Christmas was a very special time indeed. Because with the festive season came a truly incredible cinematic experience. Okay, so not everyone has a tolerance for Tolkien, but you don't have to know a whole lot about Middle-Earth to recognise Peter Jackson's pictures as bona fide movie masterpieces. And Jackson's adaptation of The Hobbit? Let’s close our eyes really tight and pretend it didn’t happen, eh?
The Princess Bride - When William Goldman asked his daughters what he should write about, they said 'princesses and brides'. But rather than conjuring up a simple children's story, the Oscar-winning screenwriter created a tale that's equal parts action-packed swashbuckler and sophisticated comedy. Everyone has their favourite character, but I’m particularly fond of Mandy Patinkin's chivalrous Latin swordsman - "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
Reign Of Fire - While there are plenty of movies about dragons, few of them are actually any good. Rob Bowman's movie stands apart from dross like DragonHeart and Eragon since i) the over-sized lizards look excellent, ii) the 'Future Earth' setting is superbly realised, and iii) Matthew McConaughey delivers one of the best head butts in the history of film. Seriously, it's even superior to the one Shatner gives himself in Star Trek VI.
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