127 hours

Another Danny Boyle film to the rescue.
This is kinda like one of those films you get shown in your English lessons at school when you are studying travel and tourism.
A guy gets his hand stuck under a boulder for 127 hours and this film takes us through what happened just before and what is happening as he's surviving those 127 hours in Utah.

I don't really know what to say about this film. It's hard to judge if it's a good or bad film because it's based on a true story and the topic isn't one that really grabs you. It's certainly good for the topic and I won't knock James Franco, he was great in this role. It's hard to feel really passionate about this film because of the topic. I didn't ever want to hide behind a cushion, scream or cry so it's tough for me to really decide on how good this film is.

I wont say that it's a bad film. Danny Boyle doesn't make bad films, he just chooses interesting topics to base his films on.

Watch it and then share your views with me, help me. Comment on this post with your thoughts and views on this film!

All About Eve

Sorry that it's been something like a week since i last posted (if not longer). Finding the time to watch films like this is becoming harder and harder but i will keep trying and i will finish this challenge before the new year!

This weeks film is All about Eve. Yes it's another black and white classic and i do apologise for that, unfortunately the black and white films are what's available to me at the moment and most of the interesting stuff that is left isn't going to be watched until november.

I find it harder to judge black and white films because the quality of acting is in a way, lower that the quality that we sometimes see now but maybe it's not the acting that is low but the equipment?

this is all that IMDB has to say on the plot:
An ingenue insinuates herself in to the company of an established but aging stage actress and her circle of theater friends.

The cast of Bette Davis, Ann Baxter and George Sanders are arguably a very good cast and are perfect for this film. The problem isn't with the cast, i think that it is with the plot. You can usually tell a good film from a bad film by the plot or at least the amount written on IMDB and this has possibly the smallest plot summary I've ever seen on IMDB.

It certainly lacks action or well anything really. It's kinda like Fred Estaire films but at least they have interesting music and some great dance sequences, this doesn't even have that. Don't make a point of watching it before you die and it's not a must see film. 

All about Eve is probably very good for it's time but not great in the world of film and was certainly outdone by the sixties and the likes of Hitchcock setting a new standard only ten years after this film was made. It's passive and easy to watch but not captivating or even particularly interesting. I'll say that it is more interesting than 2001 a space odyssey but then i've yet to find a film that is worse!

See you all next time!

Clare

Out of Sight

A very good film with George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez.
Don Cheadle is awesome and totally a gangster. His character name is snoop and once you've seen it you can understand why. He practically owns the show!

Jennifer Lopez- a US FBI marshall typically manages to fall in love with George Clooney because thats how these kinda films go. Clooney has broken out of prison and whilst escaping manages to throw lopez in the trunk of her car and jump in with her. She tries to track him down and the story goes on.

A slight Ocean's Eleven feel to it but nonetheless a very good film and one that I would definitely recommend watching.
Clooney is awesome as ever and so are Lopez and Ving Rhames. The cast is brilliant and not one of them let the film down.

Sunset Boulevard

We've journeyed back to the 1950's for this one. I love black and white films, especially Hitchcock and some of the silent movies.

I can't remember who put this on the list but I'm quite glad that they did. Peaceful, flowing and easy to enjoy.

A writer is employed by a slightly crazy woman that sleep walks to fix her script. She is apparently and actress and she has written a very weird script that features a lot of scenes with her in and a lot about hallucinations and nightmares.

The writer is 3 months behind on his rent for his apartment and this woman has money to burn so he takes the job. She makes him move in with her and he gets a taste of the higher life.

Verdict:

Lovely. Really nice to watch on a Sunday afternoon and takes me very much back to my childhood when we had to play board games and do things as a family, maybe watch a movie in the evening.

I couldn't help but smile throughout the film. It has something classy about the choreography and the music. In my opinion there is nothing better than a film with quality acting, proper classical music and ballroom dancing to go with it, that is what it meant to be in high society (which is an excellent film).

William Holden and Gloria Swanson are magnificent and really compliment each other. I would definitely watch this film again, at least twice in a year if not more. The only modern film that I can think of that comes close to making me feel the same way as this film did is The Quartet which was a glorious film and a showcase of talent in every aspect.

Sunset Boulevard has really turned my day from disaster into quality!

Saw

Sunset Boulevard tomorrow.
I do have to apologise because until late October or early November the blog will go quiet. I've got something like 4 films to watch before I have to focus on my courses and work and other things. In October or November I'll start posting like one a day or sometimes more all the way until the challenge is complete but until then you're just gonna have to bear with me folks!

So I used to be laughed at cos I was the only one in my school that hadn't seen Saw (any of them) and Thorpe park had just created the ride Saw. My parents had this rule about actually following age ratings on films and so it was a no- go.

I'm not a huge fan of horror films (as i've said any time i have to watch one for this blog). My favorite so far has been the silence of the lambs closely followed by Psycho. Saw Isn't better than The Silence of the Lambs by any way. I don't see what the hype was about - but i haven't seen the others. What separates this film from the other horror films is the suspense (Psycho) and the insane quality of acting (Silence of the Lambs). This isn't a bad film, not at all but it's not at the top of the list of best horror films. I wasn't disappointed with it but i have to admit that i was more scared by the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre than i was by this film.
I don't want to rave on and on about the other films and I don't have that much to say about Saw. I don't know what the ride is like in the theme park because I hate theme parks (I know I'm weird) but I hope that the ride is freakier than this film. I probably wouldn't watch this film again- which is good because it means that it is doing it's job at scaring me!

Ben- Hur

We're back with Ben-Hur and hopefully either Saw or Sunset Boulevard to follow.

This film reminds me of Spartacus in it's topic, costume and generation. I have only seen bits of Spartacus (no i'm Spartacus) so it would be unfair and unwise to try and compare these two films.
Starting off with a Census being issued in Israel, which is still Roman territory, all men have to register themselves.

I have to admit that I enjoy these films. I really enjoyed the original clash of the titans and yes, I have to ignore all acting abilities (or lack of) and a serious lack of technology but all these films have plots, comedy and some great moments. Ben-Hur presents the difficulties in Roman and Jewish allegiance.
This film explores Christianity in that Jesus is preaching around this time and his preaching helps the main character to find inner peace.
I'm not sure that i would consider this film to be one of the all time greats and i think that it's too long. 3 and a half hours is too long for any film except the lord of the rings and should not be promoted. The story line is simple so i can't understand why they decided that they had to drag it out over three hours but oh well.
It is a good enough film for it's time but if you don't watch it before you die then it's not a big deal.
Until next time!

True Grit

I had seen the original but not the remake. I loved the original and I wanted to see how Jeff Bridges undertook the role that he won awards for.
I've just said that he won awards so I don't need to say how good it is.
I really enjoyed the film. It seemed unlikely that a girl of fourteen would be able to do as many business deals as she manages but you never know, you can always be surprised.
I've watched some films with Jeff Bridges in as part of this challenge and it's easy to see that he is a versatile actor and not one that plays the same character every time.
He suits having an eye patch very much and i find he is similar to Geoffrey Rush (Imagine the eye patch) in his mannerisms.

I can see why this film won so many awards. This was another year when Jeff was against Colin Firth for the awards. The King's speech won a lot of awards and what it didn't win True Grit won. I think that Jeff Bridges won the award for best actor again (a rematch from when Colin Firth was in a single man and Jeff Bridges was in Tron Legacy).
Joel and Ethan Cohen do make good films. I'm told that Fargo is a good film although I haven't yet managed to watch it. No Country for old men was a bit weird but still good and i've already posted about that so feel free to check it out. The big Lebowski is on the list and I need to find a way of watching it but empire has it on its 301 greatest films so i'm assuming that it's a good film.
O brother where art thou is not so great. It's similar to Homer's the Odyssey and I have to admit that I saw it in a classics lesson when I was studying Homer. It was ok but not that great and burn after reading just shouldn't've been made... ever.

Anyways- back to the film in question.
Matt Damon was great and very much helped by Bridges. The film really does make you believe that it was being filmed several decades ago and that they just had really good technology. I found it really easy to watch, not complicated and not too provoking which I liked.
I would suggest to anyone that hasn't seen it that they should get hold of a copy and check out this film!

Guardians of the galaxy

Hey guys, because of the way things are working out, it's looking like you should get a post over the weekend and then one on wednesday. Of course I can't guarantee that it will work in this order but fingers crossed!

So this film isn't on the list but i went to see it in the cinema (finally!) and thought that i would post about it.
Guardians of the galaxy... where to start?
At the start of the film you're a bit like... where's this going? maybe you don't like it but as it develops and gets funnier and funnier you end up loving it!
Chris Platt (Lego movie) is an up and coming new star to watch out for and Zoe Saldana (Star Trek) we all know about. Together they are awesome and manage to pull off some pretty weird things. Taking the crown for weirdness (and awesomeness) is the combination of Bradley Cooper (Silver lining playbooks, The A-team) and Vin Diesel (xxx, the fast and the furious) as the characters of Rocket and Groot.
Glenn Close is fabulous as the super important woman and commander of the novacore star fleet.
There are some awesome stunts and some typical ones, some aweful songs of the nineties and some great songs and the best thing of all- it's not a complicated storyline.

A wonderful film and worth paying to go and see.

Blade Runner

Hey Guys- I'm back.
Sorry for delay, had a wedding to deal with.

I know i've struggled to find ways of watching a fair amount of films left on the list so today i've watched Blade Runner.

Today I learnt that Harrison Ford managed to make a film that when he was younger that wasn't star wars or Indiana Jones and that was Blade Runner.
How shall I put it... an 'interesting' film involving cloned people and memories. I've struggled to really understand what it is i'm watching so i've borrowed the summary from IMDB and put it underneath.

A blade runner must pursue and try to terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.

I should have known that it would be Ridley Scott. Something this Sci-Fi ish screams Ridley Scott at you. I wont lie, it was a good film and I liked Harrison Ford in it. The evil guy was typically platinum blond and kinda reminded me of the guy from one of those Roger Moore James Bond movies (I think a view to a kill?).

It's worth seeing Harrison Ford in something other than what he's famously known for, just to see if he can really act and can make films that don't involve George Lucas and John Williams.

I enjoyed... but weird.

Just to say- I'm back working so don't expect posts every day but a couple each week is what i'm aiming for.