My Top 10 Guilty Pleasure Movies
1. Titanic
James Cameron’s epic is usually on most people’s most hated films but I can’t place why I love it so much. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of childhood but it’s one of those films that I’ve never got bored of. True it’s overlong and embarrassingly romantic, but the doomed ocean liner adventure never fails to entertain me. Only one to watch all the way through once or twice a year, but I always enjoy it.
2. Con Air
Nicholas Cage’s hair aside, Con Air is one of those films that’s so stupid it’s brilliant. The premise is stupid yet genius and with a cast including
John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi and John Cusack it’s one hell of an entertaining film. The action is overblown and the dialogue is cheesy and laughable, but Con Air is easy action watching at its best. All the actors know that this isn’t a serious film so they go with it and make one of the best action films of the past twenty years.
3. Commando
My first Arnie movie entry of this list, Commando takes camp and cheese to a whole new level. From the guns that seem to never run out of bullets to a villain who looks like a reject from a dominatrix club it’s a pitch perfect film. The sight of Arnie in a speedo is something I never wanted to see, but with a ludicrous plot, big guns and lines like “don’t wake my friend, he’s dead tired”, this guilty pleasure just gets better.
4. Snakes on a Plane
Hilarious from beginning to end, Snakes on a Plane is a movie that’s meant to be awful, and I can’t help but watch it and love it every now and then. Samuel L Jackson plays his usual character, Kenan Thompson is as stereotypical as they come, and there’s a cliché at every turn. The best thing about a guilty pleasure is just how much you can enjoy something so bad, and with this film that’s a lot. I certainly wasn’t tired of those motherfucking snakes on the motherfucking plane
5. Taken
Who knew Liam Neeson could do action. Taken is xenophobic and stupid but it’s a fantastic action film to enjoy. Liam Neeson’s particular set of skills are thrilling to watch, and although the script is clunky and implausible it’s a great film. With an 18 rating, there was plenty of violence to keep me entertained; this does make me worry for the sequel which has been downgraded to a 12a. Taken is a great guilty pleasure because of the gratuitous violence, I think the imaginatively titled sequel Taken 2 won’t live up to its predecessor.
6. Bend it like Beckham
Into girly movie territory, Bend it like Beckham plays out exactly how you think it will and I love it. Keira Knightley attempts football, Jonathan Rhys Meyers stares intently so on. The film may be stereotypical but it’s funny and enjoyable to watch from beginning to end. I think it’s one of my guilty pleasures because it’s a great film to snuggle up to if you’re alone in the house and want to indulge in some by the book entertainment.
7. Moulin rouge
My favourite musical and possibly the cheesiest and campest film ever made, Baz Luhrmann’s vivid film is disgustingly romantic but that’s why I love it. I think I used to watch this film every week when I was young and it is an embarrassing one to admit you like it. But there are songs and dancing, death, Jim Broadbent singing Like a Virgin, what more could you want from a film? It might not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s a by the book musical that always makes me smile and cry.
8. Underworld
Kate Beckinsale in tight black leather = yummy. Big guns, action, vampires, werewolves = ultimate guilty pleasure. The first Underworld is an enjoyable, standard action film with Kate Beckinsale on her usual cold form. But the reason I love it is because of how overblown it is and it doesn’t make any apologies for it. Whoever thought of casting Bill Nighy as a baddie vampire deserves the Nobel Prize as he’s the perfect blend of sinister and camp.
9. Twilight Saga
I’ll say this outright, the Twilight Saga films are awful beyond anything. They’re over the top, painfully cheesy, they ruined vampires and brought Kristen Stewart into the mainstream, but they’re so bad they’re entertaining. I would never admit publically to enjoying them, but I laugh at every scene, mock throughout and genuinely have a good time watching them. It’s a shame that in other films Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are actually quite good, but they are the people from Twilight and that’s how it will be. Thankfully the saga comes to an end this year, but the hilarity will always continue for me.
10. True Lies
Another Arnie classic, True Lies is stupid, badly acted and hilarious. With a cast including Arnie, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold and Bill Paxton, what isn’t to love in this action film? True Lies is one of those films that when someone asks you what you fancy watching, you always want to say it but don’t for fear of embarrassment. The plot is hilarious and the final set piece with the plane (and a young Eliza Dushku) is laughable. True Lies is Arnie at his camp best.
FromTheRedSofa 