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.

Wrath of the titans

I have to be honest and say that i'm struggling to find ways to watch most of the films that i haven't yet posted about. I will probably have to order them online but until i've gone back to work and worked out finances etc... those films are going to have to wait so just bear with me please.

Today's film was Wrath of the titans.
I have seen the original clash of the titans but not the remake. I only watched this film because it has Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes in it, plus i saw the advert in the cinema and really liked the advert!

Liam Neeson was fantastic (of course) as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes was elegant as Hades.
Just to clarify for those that don't know the plot of this film, this is a much better version of Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. The storyline isn't quite the same but it's about how Perseus, Zeus, Hades and Poseidon take down Kronos after Hades and Hermes used Zeus to awaken him.

Percy Jackson was terrible so it's good to see a film showing us how it should've been done!

Overall I really liked it. There were a few fight scenes where i was kinda like... just get on with it, he's massive and you're a stick there's no way that you should win but you're going to.
It did test my patience at some points but if i can endure 2001 a space odyssey then i can endure anything!
I would opt to watch this over percy jackson any time!

I Frankenstein

Again- Clare here.
I saw the advert for this film when i went to see The Hobbit part 2  in the cinema and i wanted to see it- maybe not enough to make me pay to go and see it but nevertheless it was added to our list.
I spent ages in the cinema trying to work out where i knew Miranda Otto from until i clicked that it was Miranda Otto and she is Eowyn in The Lord Of The Rings and of course she is Juliet Draper in Cashmere Mafia which is really awesome, they should've made more instead of making sex in the city instead. If you're a woman and you haven't seen this tv series then watch it- you'll love it.
Anyways- back to the film. Miranda Otto Kicks ass in this film as the queen of the 'good people'. I want to say that they are gargoyles or gremlins but i don't think they are. Her people are descendant from arch angel Michael and are in charge of fighting the demons (those who study theology will know that it was Michael who threw Satan out of heaven and guards the gates).
This story is of course about Frankenstein's monster and it explains that the monster kills Frankenstein and his new wife because Frankenstein tried to kill him and abandoned him.
Unless i'm very mistaken it also has the woman who plays Jane in the Keira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice. She is a scientist and plays a role that is completely unexpected based on her performance in pride and prejudice.
And of course... Bill Nighy keeps popping up in films of this nature. This makes 6 films that i've seen him in recently, those being the underworld films, wild target and this. I have nothing to say about him that i haven't already. I have sung his praise in every post recently about a film he has been in. I will continue to sing his praise but i see no reason to write loads about how magnificent his performance was.
I know that i've just been writing about the names that i can remember but take nothing away from the cast that i haven't mentioned. They were Lobstrominous and awesome as well. 

Easy Rider

I watched the whole of Easy Rider without really understanding the plot- but i must admit that i was also playing professor Layton and watching You only live twice at the same times as well so i wasn't giving it my undivided attention.
I read the summary and now i understand it a bit better.
Summary
Wyatt and Billy are two motorcycle riders (bikers) on their way to Mardis Gras, and encounter hitchhikers, a drunken lawyer, a jail cell, a whorehouse and the death of a friend.

I really liked the soundtrack to it. Born to be Wild is a great song and perfect for the motorbike movies. 
It's not a bad film overall but it's not interesting enough to keep me really engaged in it. I easily flicked between them, listening to the film more than watching it. There are some films that the music has made me switch back to the film and give it my undivided attention but this wasn't one of them.
It's difficult to determine if it was a good film or not but i have no reason to suggest that it's a bad film and i think it was on Empires top 301 films.

The Gold Rush

My first taste of Slapstick Comedy and Charlie Chaplin!
I had seen the artist so i knew something about silent pictures but i was surprised by how much i enjoyed this film.
The story was difficult to follow (don't try multitasking) at some points, especially if you missed a bit for whatever reason.
The film was a good laugh though and I can see why Charlie Chaplin is so highly recommended. As a bit of context this film was made in 1925 and its about a guy who mines and finds Gold. He becomes a multi- millionaire and chases after the woman he is in love with.  His house which was on top of a mountain appears to get destroyed as it falls off the point of the mountain but Chaplin and his companion survive so that they can be happy millionaires. Alls well that ends well!

A lovely film and worth the struggles of watching! Comical and enjoyable at all times and i would be forced to watch it again just to try and properly understand the plot.
Chaplin is brilliant!

Die Hard

I almost laughed when I realised that Alan Rickman was the bad guy in it but he is absolutely brilliant in Die Hard. I also marvel at the fact that he really suits a beard, in fact, i think it makes him look better which is good cos as Professor Snape he was definitely not considered attractive.
Anyway- I had seen the second Die Hard film but this one is so much better! Bruce Willis is young and has hair! He's not just shooting everyone up but he's actually doing some acting and i think hair suits him well.
Overall I really liked the film. I can't see why they would make 5 films out of the story but i liked the plot for the first film.
Bruce Willis getting his arse kicked by a blond German was kinda ironic but it was still a great film.
I know this post is short but i don't like to give the plot of the film away cos there could be some people that haven't seen the film when they read this post. I will try and be more professional about this post but it's late and i'm very tired, so it will have to be starting tomorrow.
Goodnight.

Long walk to Freedom

Again it's Clare posting from Esther's account cos her account is the administrative account so it's easier for me to be signed in as her.
Idris Elba stars as Nelson Mandela in what happens to be a VERY long book. Of course his life is a very long story and they did well to make it into a 2 and a bit hour long film.
Idris Elba is brilliant as Nelson Mandela. I think perhaps that Morgan Freeman is still my favourite old Mandela but Elba still deserves awards for his performance.
Having watched the film I am now able to understand more about Mandela's life. We all know (or should know) that he was imprisoned for 27 years but we I didn't get taught in History was that his wife was arrested a few times and taken away from her children. You could argue that Mandela's acts were selfish because he left his children without a father for so long and even sometimes without a mother. On the other hand you could say that it wasn't because he was fighting for the freedom of his people... it just depends on how you see it. I'm the kinda person that would put family before politics but not everyone would do that.

Anyway back to the film. Mandela's second wife is a very moving character and so are his daughters when they grow up. His daughter speaks for Mandela whilst he is in prison and manages to keep the people that he fought for united when they are killing each other off in other parts of South Africa.
Of course it's a moving film, the subject is moving and there was no way that it couldn't be moving. To many people Nelson Mandela is something of a hero.
This film along with The Butler, Lincoln, Invictus and The Help is an outstanding film and thoroughly deserves to win awards. Films that are based on politics usually win lots of awards but that's because they are well made and well deserving of the awards that they win. This is a breathtaking and moving film, packed with violence but a film that manages to make it's point very clearly and really tell the life of Nelson Mandela.

12 Monkeys

12 Monkeys, in some way a completely pointless film and in other ways a totally brilliant film.
Brad Pitt is outstanding in his portrayal of a crazy man in a mental institution. His performance at times makes you want to burst out laughing. Of course he then goes on to be the leader of the twelve monkeys and to be an absolute psychopath.
Christopher Plummer is his father and is a bit of a weird character. He gets kidnapped by Brad Pitt and then accepts that his son is a psychopath but a little too late.
Bruce Willis is as good as he can be in this film. A guy that has a criminal record and is sent back in time to stop the virus that had been released by the twelve monkeys from eradicating the human race.

I really like the film, even if they fail to stop it in the end which just kinda seems pointless. This is possibly the first Terry Gillian film that i have seen so i can't draw a comparison with any of his other films. A little weird but still good.

28 Days later...

I was surprised when i looked at the back of the case and discovered that the cast was very small. Now that i've watched the film i'm not at all surprised.
Cillian Murphy was absolutely awesome in his role as a guy who wakes up in hospital to find out that everyone has left or has been killed/ infected. He suddenly has to start killing people to keep himself alive.
In the first scene he is completely naked (which probably went down well with most of the female audience) but i was left questioning whether it was absolutely necessary for him to be naked.
Brendan Gleeson was brilliant as the father and taxi driver that saves Cillian Murphy and the girl from the infected people. He eventually becomes infected and gets shot but he manages to pretty much get his daughter and the other two passengers to safety.

This film is about a guy that wakes up to find that the whole of manchester has been infected or killed by an unknown species and there are very few people left. The film is about his struggles and how he manages to get to safety.
He even gets shot in the end by a military dude that he has been staying with because he kills all the other army guys. To be fair the army guys have been typical 'men' towards the women and he didn't like it so he was completely justified... not to mention that they probably became infected because they were keeping someone that was infected chained up in the courtyard area.

A great film for what it was. Not something that i would watch again but still a very powerful film and in some ways a bit like Shaun of the dead (I haven't seen Dawn of the dead so i can't comment).

The final chapter (for now)

I've finally watched the fourth underworld film 'Awakening' and i was right- they have left the ending open to a fifth film. I really don't see how they could make a sixth though so i really hope that they end it with the fifth.

It was nice to get back to the cast that i had expected to see in the third film. Kate Beckinsale was kick-ass as always and her daughter was just as good! Charles Dance was very... I want to say Charles Dance-ish but i guess that's a bit vague. His character wasn't the greatest but i think it suited him quite a lot. It's nice to see him make an appearance as a vampire because i'd got used to only seeing him on the big fat quiz of the year reading extracts of slightly dubious books.
Now that Bill Nighy is gone i guess they needed someone similar to take over a slightly questionable role and he did that. He wasn't the evil guy, just a slightly coward-like vampire that didn't want to risk his men for the sake of a hybrid girl.
The evil guy was played by the same guy that is in V for Vendetta! The inspector turned into a lycan- a massive lyan and decided to be evil instead of good... at least he shows his versatility.
I'm kinda looking forward to the next film (if they make a fifth film). I think that they have developed the story line well enough to keep people interested throughout the next film. Certainly i liked this film as much as i liked the other films and i don't feel that any one of them is weaker than the others.
I liked the addition of the new guy as Michael was hardly in this film. The new guy had an awesome voice and was generally cool (plus he has a massive knife).
Loved it!

The Birds

This was the last Hitchcock film on the list and once again quite different to what i have seen. All Hitchcock films has a death in them and most of them contain espionage but they are all different.

The birds is in my opinion not as good as psycho. I loved psycho and it's possibly his best film although there is a tough call for it to be rear window! I know what you're thinking "you've only seen 5 films how can you judge?" My sister has a boxset of 15 and i fully intend to watch every single one in that box set.
I'm informed that when she gets attacked by birds, Hitchcock actually tied birds to her so what was happening was real and she probably was actually hurt as much as we see in the film which is a method that health and safety would stamp their HUGE feet all over and the idea would never have been approved. Then again this film was made in 1963 so we have to make some acceptances.
As always, the blood looks like paint and some of the acting is questionable but i really liked the film. I'm not sure that it's better than vertigo but it's still a good film and possibly better than the one i watched the other day which was about a spiritualist and her boyfriend that go looking for some guy that's thought to be dead on behalf of a client because they want the money reward. That film was kinda ridiculous and made me laugh lots. The birds was less ridiculous and had a simple storyline to it.

I once again commend Hitchcock for his work in the film industry (even if his methods are slightly questionable).
Share your views on Hitchcock films with us.
We have posted the list of films that I was watching this year and I will post the list of films for next year. If you want to add films or create your own list that you think i should watch then comment or email us! We'd love to hear from our readers (even if it is a different person every day).

Rise Of The Lycans

This is the third underworld film. I left to go.
Full of slightly ridiculous spinny fight scenes which make you laugh cos they're blatantly for show and nothing more.
This is a back story explaining why Kate Beckinsale's character was left alive when Viktor had killed her entire family. Viktor had a daughter called Sonia who fell in love with a Lycan called Lucian (Michael Sheen) and she abandoned him and i think died because she helped Lucian escape and then he came back for her. Lucian thinks that he has killed Viktor but ultimately he hasn't.

Again the acting was great (the sex scene was unnecessary) but with the typical OTT expected in an 18 rated film.

I liked it as much as i have liked the other films because it is different from the other two. Michael does not feature in this film, which allows the fourth film to be tied in to all the films (if that is what they did with it). Instead of building on a complicated story, they decided to explain bits of the story which i love, especially as rumours spread suggesting a fifth film!
There is a lovely fight scene at the end with Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen where you expect Bill Nighy to win because although he is fighting a younger man, Bill Nighy was an assassin and a giant squid so he can't be outclassed (except by Liam Neeson). However Lucian 'kills' Bill Nighy except we all know that in order for him to be in the first film then that can't really be true.
The films ends classically, with the doors shutting on Viktor.

A great film and nice to see that it is one that manages to be separate and yet link the films together.

I will watch the fourth one either today or tomorrow and post.