While most of the world is heading off on summer vacation, the skeleton staff left behind at the Quizefy offices have come up with a Top Ten movie list. Despite much bickering, a consensus has finally been reached.
We’re starting at the bottom (seems sacrilege to call it that) - films 10 through 6 - and saving the Top Five for our next blog. In this two-part series, we’ll give you a brief synopsis, along with some of the highs and lows, of this somewhat eclectic list.
So here we go: 10–6. And if you think we’ve got it wrong, just wait until you see the Top Five.
10. The Report
A 2019 film that follows Daniel Jones, who was heading up the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation into the CIA’s torture program after 9/11. As with all good political films, the roadblocks and cover-ups are numerous. The film also touches on the CIA illegally investigating US citizens.
Adam Driver plays Daniel Jones, with Annette Bening in the role of California Senator Dianne Feinstein. If you have an interest in US domestic politics, definitely worth a look.
9. JFK
A 1991 Oliver Stone American political drama about the assassination of John F. Kennedy and its aftermath. For many, questions are still unanswered about the events in Dealey Plaza on that fateful November day in 1963.
The film depicts the investigation by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison and the irregularities he saw in the Warren Commission Report. Lee Harvey Oswald, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the single-bullet theory - the film delves into them all. With a running time of over three hours, this film packs a lot in.
The cast is led by Kevin Costner as Jim Garrison, along with an unbelievable entourage of co-stars. If you have the time, it’s worth a view.
8. The Post
Released in 2017 and directed by Steven Spielberg, The Post depicts the story of The Washington Post and its decision to publish the infamous Pentagon Papers.
In 1971, the US was still knee-deep in the Vietnam War. The Pentagon Papers laid out many of the shortcomings of American defence policy in Indochina. With reporters struggling to release the documents, the film deals with First Amendment rights as well as freedom of the press.
The cast is particularly good, with Tom Hanks in the role of Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee and Meryl Streep as Katharine Graham, owner of the paper. It’s a Spielberg movie, which alone makes it worth a look, and it’s also a nice piece of history.
7. Charlie Wilson’s War
The last film directed by the great Mike Nichols. The story of American Congressman Charles Wilson and how he orchestrated one of the largest covert operations in US history.
In 1979, the Soviet Union marches into Afghanistan. Wilson manages to convince Congress that the US needs to fund the Afghan resistance, the Mujahideen, and eventually gets the Saudis to match US funding. The operation ultimately grew to an extraordinary scale.
The cast includes Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson, Philip Seymour Hoffman as CIA agent Gust Avrakotos and Julia Roberts as Joanne Herring. But, as with all Nichols films, the supporting cast is also amazing.
6. Trumbo
In the 1950s, the “Red Scare” was very real - at least according to Senator Joseph McCarthy. Hundreds of people were blacklisted, and some were even imprisoned, for exercising their right to free speech in the US.
Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo was one who suffered the indignity of both prison and the blacklist. The film depicts his pushback against the system and the eventual collapse of McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklist.
Bryan Cranston plays Dalton Trumbo, with Diane Lane as Cleo Trumbo and Helen Mirren as the infamous Hedda Hopper. Definitely worth the watch.
That’s 10 through 6.
Five films down, five to go. The really contentious choices - and our Top Five - are coming in Part 2.
And knowing how much bickering went into putting this list together, we fully expect the arguments to continue.