Tuesday, September 15, 2015

TLC - My Top 4 Favorite Film Directors!


I haven't done one of these in a really long while.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about films. And watching a tone of movies too. So while I'm at it - here's a quick list of some of my all-time favorite film directors!

TLC #06: My Top 4 Favorite Film Directors!

Why top 4? Because I was too lazy to make a Top 5! That's why!

First of all I'll let you know this list won't feature the usual names you see in these type of lists usually, all these amazing world-renowned filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, James Cameron, Richard Donner or Peter Jackson. Sure, they've made a ton of fantastic work over their careers, but they didn't really fit this list of mine. First they already received plenty of praises and awards over the decades, but also putting them bellow wouldn't be true to my favorite films at heart.

Also you'll notice they're basically all American (and one Brit!), but that's just the type of cinema I consume the most. I've seen all kinds of foreign films actually, and I easily count directors like Takashi Miike, Bong Joon-ho, Shinji Higuchi or Luc Besson (here's a French name for you!) amongst some of my favorite filmmakers, but I haven't exactly seen most of their films.

And last, not least, even though I'm a huuuuge fan of cult favorites Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez or also Kevin Smith, and love most if not all of their films (well, at least ignoring RR's more kid-friendly films), they're not on this list either. Because they've also big hits and misses with me. For the same reason you won't find someone like J.J. Abrams either,  even though I've always been a big fan of the guy going back to his TV roots to his current blockbuster flicks. Danny Boyle, David Lynch or David Fincher all almost made the cut, but even though they made some great film work I can't say I'm a fan of every single decision they made. Other favorites that deserved a shoutout: Joe Johnston and Robert Zemeckis, because aside a couple great movies I love from them I didn't think that would rank them amongst the following Top 4. The same goes for the people who made some of my favorite comedies, John Hughes, Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis.

This list might evolve over the years, who knows! There's been a lot of promising new talent recently coming from indie films, most having already landed big blockbuster studio films such as Gareth Edwards, Colin Trevorrow or also Josh Trank.

But for my following list I only wanted to feature my most favorite film directors, the few odd names I always ended up loving every single film they produce. Really talented people with similar tastes like me, reliable creators with a great output over the years who really had barely if any misfire in my eyes.

So here goes, My Top 4 Favorite Film Directors!

Here's my list:

#04 James Gunn


Coming from the B-movie genre, James Gunn evolved a lot over the years since his Troma days. It was really interesting to see his career only get bigger and his style flourish now with much bigger budgets behind him.

Super and Slither were huge favorites of mine. And seeing him both land the Guardians of the Galaxy and then pull it off effortlessly was quite amazing!

I expect great things from the man now that his name is out there. Hopefully Marvel will allow him to breath in between blockbusters to see him direct smaller films again.

#03 Joe Dante


Always a huge fan favorite of mine, Joe Dante is one of these great talented underrated Hollywood directors who have been making films since forever but he just doesn't seem to get enough recognition for all his hard work.

It's hard to believe this man began his career making trailers for other movies!

He can do simpler intimate films The Hole, passion projects like the cartoony Looney Tunes: Back in Action or pure B-movie horror films! And sometimes combine it all in films like Gremlins 2! The man can do no wrong in my eyes!

#02 Edgar Wright



"Newcomer" Edgar Wright might be "younger" than the others on this list of mine, but he's no beginner. After his really successful hit British TV series Spaced, Edgar Wright was able to make the jump from TV to film by simply doing the same type of quirky nerdy projects.. only on much bigger scale nowadays!

I'm still kinda sad we won't get to see his own take on what his Ant-Man would have been, but you never know he left Marvel on good terms, we might still see him back for another type of project down the line.

His movies have all been great explorations of different genres. Zombie films, buddy cop comedy, comic book comedy or alien invasion. I would love to see him to a modernized Western or something really out of left field.

I can't wait to see what film or genre he might pull of next.

#01 John Carpenter


Finally, here comes my favorite film director of all time, no doubt.

John Carpenter's a personal favorite for me. Anything he does, even his more questionable choices, are always fun and enjoyable.

All his films turn into passion projects. He always invests himself completely in his work and watching one of his films, any of his films, is always a great and unique experience. I always end up totally immersed in his worlds, the man has a fantastic talent for crafting the universe of his films.

Be it a slasher film like Halloween, some pure gory horror film like The Thing, a quirky adventure like Big Trouble or an alien invasion film like They Live. You always end up invested in these different stories and completely thrown all-out into the heart of the action, next to these characters, living these incredible situations.

He might have some tension with Hollywood over the years, people coming from the B-movie genre often tend to do so with "big shot" suits from Hollywood productions, but he can do just fine with much smaller independent-financed budgets for his smaller films.

Sadly he really slowed down his production these last few years only making The Ward and a few Masters of Horror films. I really hope he will step forward and offer us one or two great hits, but for now all we can do his enjoy the dozen of memorable iconic work he produced over his long career.


Anyways, that's it for "My Top 4 Favorite Film Directors!"

Of course it's a pretty personal list with probably choices you wouldn't have made, and I believe most if not all lists are to some degree.

So now I ask you, who are your own favorite film directors? Any names I missed in my introduction? Or are you someone who only enjoys films "ironically" and always must have Uwe Boll on his own lists? Write 'em down to me in the comments section, I'll be sure to have a look!

See you next time for another Top List Countdown!

1 comment:

  1. Edgar Wright deserves to direct more big budget titles!

    ReplyDelete