My picks for best films were all foreign.

No, I'm not a movie snob who looks down on American films, or someone who only likes arty films. I probably watch more low-budget bad movies than all of you...27 horror movies alone so far this year (and 24 of them have been pretty bad), and I enjoy popcorn movies as well as deep movies. It just worked out that the top 3 movies for me were all foreign this time around.

The best movie for me was a Chinese movie called Aftershock. It starts with the true events of the major earthquake in Tangshan, China back in '76 that killed a quarter of a million people. A mother's two kids are trapped in the rubble in such a way that moving the rubble to save one will kill the other. She has to choose one, but unknown to her the other child hears her choice and lives, and the film follows the repercussions of that choice over 30 years. I normally struggle with dramas, and find them too melodramatic and sappy more often than not, but this movie is very powerful, and extremely well made and acted.

The two comments below the trailer are spot on, and yes, the tears flowed more than once.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_QML6RdN0E




The second best for me was a Korean action movie called The Good, The Bad, The Weird, a massively fun movie that plays like Tarantino doing Indiana Jones with Sergio Leone's ghost watching over his shoulder. The story is a simple one. It's pre WW2 in Japanese occupied Manchuria, and three men all try to get a treasure map. There's some great humor, and the action sequences are some of the best I've ever seen (this from a big John Woo fan). This was the most fun I had watching a movie all year, and I had a smile plastered on my face throughout.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzNnCK5cd8Q



My third best is a British movie called Four Lions, about four inept British Muslims who want to become suicide bombers. The trailer gives the impression that this is a slapstick comedy when in reality it's more dry comedy for the most past. In one scene, the police think one of the terrorists is dressed in a bear costume for a costumed "Fun Run", and two snipers spot what may be him, but argue over whether the costume is a bear or a wookie. It's also got some actual emotion added for good measure, and you find yourself genuinely engaged by these characters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew-SrlQ9tlI