Ranking my Friends Favourite Films
- Caitlin Willis
- Jun 22, 2020
- 4 min read
Part 1? Should I make this a series?
So this post started out as a little bit of fun conversation (through a group chat because we can’t leave the house atm) and kind of spiralled into this. I’m not sure if the pickings can really cause a fair fight because most of my friends are full on chick flick people (nothing wrong with it) so I asked four very different friends what their faves were and then ranked them.
As per this is not in order.
Wild Child (2008)
The second chick flick I was given but definitely my favourite of the two. An American teen who pushed her dad too far and gets shipped off to boarding school in England? She was living my dream (I always wanted to go to boarding school as a child, don’t ask why I’m not entirely sure myself). Poppy Moore (Emma Roberts) tries her hardest to get expelled and ends up becoming besties with these uptight English schoolgirls. They charity shop, try and seduce Freddy (the headmistresses’ son, yum) and get drunk af at a fancy-dress ball and it’s so heart-warming and happy and I just love it.
Unexpected nostalgia or this one 8/10
Harry Potter (2001-2011)
Unpopular opinion but has anyone ever said that their favourite Harry Potter film was the Half-Blood Prince? I mean other than copious amounts of Draco Malfoy on screen (yum) the film seems (surface level) to be a filler for the franchise. It’s after Order of the Phoenix which was the real transition into the darker side of the series (excluding the finale of Goblet of Fire RIP Cedric) but before The Deathly Hallows which round up the 7-year journey in an explosive and dramatic climax. Harry is juggling his position as ‘the chosen one’, puberty, the (fight me we all see it) homoerotic subtext with Draco, Sirius’ death and then the ever-closer threat that is Voldemort. It’s not an easy watch (or read) in comparison, but even then, it’s not necessarily BAD, just a bit less fantasy and a bit more realism and angst.
Lily though, chose Prisoner of Azkaban. This film gave me nightmares as a child, with Remus turning into a werewolf and Harry and Hermione hiding behind the tree? NOPE, child me was NOT having it. Other than that, I think the film is a slice of relief for the audience and Harry as there is no dramatic showdown with Voldemort (or a horcrux) in the final act. I also think the film really humanises Harry in the way that he craves family and he finally finds it, only for it to remain just out of touch.
I love it but 7.5/10
Legend (2015)
The wild card (I think) of my friend’s choices. Catherine picked this one (she’s a History student so I’m not too shook) and I stand behind her choice. The film follows the Kray twins in 60s London and leads up to their incarceration in 1969. I mean first things first, what’s better than one Tom Hardy? TWO of them, yes you read that correctly, there is two of them and it’s so iconic. The films itself is (in my opinion) underwhelming but also a good watch, I’d recommend it but not wax poetic; either way, Emily Browning also stars in the movie and Hardy was nominated for several awards for his performance.
It’s really bizarre for me as my family grew up in South London where this film takes place and we actually have a few ties to the gang culture at the time (no my family was not in the gang, we just have a few stories).
Bit dry but a good watch 6/10
Clueless (1995)
I was kind of shook to find out that this was an adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel Emma. I literally sat with my head tilted to the side like ‘wut’ for like 10 minutes. This film has such a cult following and has been claimed as one of the best teen films of all time which I don’t think anyone can really argue with. From the Heathers esque check suit to the Calvin Klein mini dress, the protagonist Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) plays one of the most fashionable film characters of all time. As well as being funny, highly re-watchable and majorly quotable, the film also started my HUGE crush on Paul Rudd (as well as many others I imagine).
Fun 7/10
EXTRA: Alien (1979)
This was actually my pick (either this, Silence of the Lambs or a Batman film lol sorry) and I want to put it at number 1 but I’ll have it as an extra because I’m bias lol. I decided on Alien because it’s a film I can rewatch over and over and still love. Sigourney Weaver is a feminist icon and the cat Jonesy is the real star of the film let's be real. I think this was the first film I saw that had a woman lead that wasn’t a typical final girl or trying to hard or overly feminine in a bid to prove that you can be glamorous and badass (ew). Weaver is 6 feet tall and was 29 when she played Ripley, it was her first lead role and it is so so iconic, the character she played was really human and universally relatable which just elevated her performance and actually established her as a feminist icon. (a title that still stands today)
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