Hopkins is back

We go back to a very young and very attractive Anthony Hopkins in the 1980 film The Elephant man this week.
Yeah i know it's been a while, finding the time has been difficult but hey-ho, now i have found the time for this one.

Biographies are hard for me to watch. For some reason i just lack enthusiasm for them and any that i had soon fades away. Even Anthony Hopkins can't keep me interested in them- it's like watching the history channel... my brain switches in to boredom mode.
Saying all that, it was a very interesting biography. Hopkins as a young doctor that takes an interest in the elephant man tells the story.
The elephant man was beaten and so the doctor takes him away and tries to prevent further damage. He can't help but feel like this is a once in a life time opportunity (as all doctors do when they see something new).
quite an ingenious film.

Brave Heart

Mel Gibson stars in a bloody and Scottish feeling recount of William Morris.

The most important thing to say about this film is that it is long. I found it to be long to really keep me interested. Each to their own and i really can't sit through films longer than an hour and half unless they constantly have something happening all the time like the lord of the rings and the godfather. I guess that long films about history and war kinda bore me a bit.

I don't want to take anything away from Mel Gibson, his portrayal was magnificent and there is a reason as to why this film did so well- he's it.

If it's your style and cup of tea then it's one of the best types of tea that you can have. If not- it's just another day at the office.

For those that are interested in history, William Morris or Mel Gibson then you should definitely make a point of watching this film.

That's it for now- in a few weeks i'll be back to blogging every day or something like that in a desperate attempt to finish the challenge before christmas.

Relax, take a shower

Yeah- I watched the remake of Hitchcock's classic 'Psycho'.
Vince Vaughn plays the stunning role of the man with the knife and the dead mother that possibly isn't dead and i have to admit that is a Oscar worthy performance from Vince Vaughn. It was hard for to me to envisage him in that role before I started watching it but once i had started it was awesome.
I don't know if the remake is better or worse than the original. I think that it is probably on a par with it, purely because of the skill from Hitchcock to create a film that couldn't go wrong. Psycho isn't a film that leaves much room for interpretation and therefore doesn't leave much room to go wrong with it.
Just as i loved the original, I loved the remake. Everything about this film is breathtaking and yes, just like before i laughed at the shower scene. I think that the music is probably what makes me laugh so much but even so i appreciate it because i don't have to run away in terror from it.

Next up is Braveheart. Enjoy guys.

South Pacific

Rodgers and Hammerstein's is back with us to sparkle some light on how to really do musicals.
I know that i said Carousel didn't have any memorable music but every show writer has one bad production. Y'know- for Andrew Lloyd Webber it was the more recent stuff such as The Woman In White and Love Never Dies. For Gilbert and Sullivan it was Princes Ida.
South Pacific has some great songs and perfectly timed dance sequences. Unlike many other musicals of it's time, the sequences are short and not overdone.
The only thing that I am still trying to work out is why it has a slightly yellow feel to it. It's as if they used a yellow filter to film everything.
I will admit that South Pacific isn't as good as The Sound Of Music, but then again I don't think that they were ever going to out do that one. The King and I was great but too long, whereas the Sound of Music was the perfect length with great songs and a beautiful tour of Saltzberg. The music in South Pacific is good but not as good and the scenery is just a beautiful. I think that this is possibly on a par with the King and I but maybe (only slightly) just underneath it in terms of ranking.
Nevertheless, this has given me a very enjoyable Sunday morning and now that it has stopped raining, it can only get better!
Happy Sunday everyone!

The Big Lebowski

A film that is considered by Empire as one of the top 501 films of all time.
I found it hugely overrated.
Jeff Bridges stars in this film and as always- Jeff Bridges doesn't make bad films. This film is far from bad, it's also far fro great. There is too much swearing in this film.
This film is easy enough to watch. I guess i just didn't feel like there was something strong that was pulling me in. It isn't a film that i would've left the cinema saying 'that was worth the £12 I payed to see it'. They had a good idea and not the writers to pull it off.

I would like to hear your views on this film... leave a comment.

All That Jazz

So I am watching something very weird and kinda sexually explicit in it's own way.
All That Jazz is about a man who won Oscars and other awards for writing/directing/choreographing.
It is obviously about musical theatre and some of the dance seems are awesome but there are a few weird scenes where you're just staring and going 'What the ****'. As soon as this happened I started to dislike the film.
There's a lot of wannabe comedy in this film that is just overdone and too long. I don't think that a film about someone's life can or should ever be classed as not very good, so i'll just settle for the word that I have already used a lot in this post-weird.
All That Jazz tries to show musical theater embracing all types of relationships but the way that they tried it was not the best.
I applaud it for trying but because it is a semi autobiography of someone's life, it's hard to tell if everything in the film was similar to this mans life or if the weird bits were just made up by the director- who by the way is the man that this film is kinda about.
I don't feel that I can fairly make a decision about this film- watch it and make up your own minds.
What i will say is that this film has a fabulous soundtrack!

Seven brides for Seven brothers

I don't remember why or how this ended up on the list but it did and i decided to watch it yesterday.
If you haven't seen this film then you aren't really missing much. A man called Adam has six brothers and he goes in to town to find himself a wife. He doesn't really want a wife, he wants a cook but anyway, he marries this woman and takes her back to his family home where his brothers also still live.
She teaches them etiquette and various things like that and they all end up getting married.

This film has a fairly terrible story line and is one of the worst musicals i have seen. The dance sequences are way to long, as is some of the singing. You can tell that a film is bad when all it's dances are too long and unnecessary.
The story isn't particularly gripping and there are times when you are sitting there asking yourself what the point is in this particular scene or even a series of scenes.
The trick to musicals is to make the dancing related to what's going on. So in the sound of music, she is taking the out in Vienna which they don't do very much if at all. The dance scene shows their journey in Vienna and has an entertaining song to go with it. In this film the dances often don't have any words with it so you need the dancing to be spectacular (which it possibly may have been for that period in time) and to be reasonably short.

I have seen worse films and worse dances and i would be wrong to say that this is a aweful film, it's just not up there with the other musicals.

Until next time...

Bonnie and Clyde

The much referenced movie has finally arrived on fooltheeyefoolthebrain film challenge.
We added it to the list to see why it was referenced so much and now i understand.
Bonnie is a woman who in the first scene appears naked at the window to watch a man (Clyde) try and steal her mothers car.
Bonnie asks Clyde what he does and so he tells her that he spent some time in prison for armed robbery. He shows her the gun and goes in to a store to prove it and everything kicks off from there.

Public enemies is the film that springs to mind when i think of this film. They have a similar story line. Bonnie and Clyde team up with a car mechanic and Clyde's brother and wife to form the gang that rob banks. They spend their time on the run and eventually some of them die or get arrested.

Yes it is rated 18. No it doesn't have any sex in it  unless i managed to miss it completely (which is very possible).  There is a lot of shooting but not much else so i can't work out why it is rated 18 but anyway- it is.

Warren Beatty does a fantastic job as Clyde (not to mention everything else that he does).
Joined by Gene Hackman and Faye Dunaway they create a cast that is almost equal to Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and the team that are in public enemies.
Gene Wilder as a addition to the cast makes everything perfect and I have to say that the film is excellent. It has a decent ending and a simple enough story line with nothing unnecessary.
It may be old but it is the rock of the belief that old films can be just as good as newer ones.

I would encourage you all to watch it- especially if you watch things that constantly have bonnie and clyde references in them.

Night all!

The Untouchables

Kevin Costner and Sean Connery act opposite Robert Di Niro in what turned out to be a film of true class.
Police officers Ness (Costner) and Malone (Connery) along with two other members of his team, Andy Garcia and the accountant swear to catch Al Capone (Di Niro) whatever it may cost.

The 1987 film is pure class. Connery is breathtaking in his role and the only part i had to skip was straight after his death. There are a few moments when you think 'why don't you just shoot the guy instead'. If he had shot the guy then he wouldn't have died but then i guess it wouldn't have added to the drama in the way that it did.
Garcia and Costner are the only two that are left alive in the end but Costner comes close to dying several times purely by the amount of times her was shot at or the amount of times someone held a gun to him.

The four man team tries to find a reason to bring Capone in and they settled for Tax fraud. The film shows their travels and journey towards bringing him in and like LA confidential shows how officers of the law can be bought and can be corrupt.
One of the better films of the 1980's and worth watching if you haven't already seen it.

Get Shorty

So if I had been slightly intelligent, I would have realised that this is the prequel to Be Cool and I would've watched this one first and posted it first.

I loved this film. I loved them both. The addition of Danny DeVito is awesome and deffinately warrants the name get shorty. I love how they managed to link the two films together at the end.

Travolta's role as a loan shark that switches to producing movies is a genius role. Travolta has that look that can kill if he wants to. He makes people more gangster than him shake with fear at the sight of him. Style and elegance and linked with his character as well as a love for films that kinda reminds me of Tony Dinozzo from NCIS.
Gene Hackman manages to play one of the guys that is more mouth than brains and because Travolta is there to clean up his mess he comes out of it ok. Hackman was also great in his role, but nothing beats Rene Russo as a smart actress that can read people and understands films a lot better than Hackman's character. She ends up producing it and being Travolta's women of the film.

This film is worthy of the nominations it received. A refreshing break from serious gangster films that are more shooting than actual film, Get Shorty provides entertainment and action in just the right balance.

Be Cool... It's all about the suit.

John Travolta and Uma Thurman make one of the coolest films i've spent my Saturday evening watching.
Be cool allows John Travolta to show how it's done. We all know him from Grease where we were a bit like... catchy music, he's obviously not 17 but thinks he's totally cool. Personally I loved Travolta in the role but it's good to see him in other things. I've seen him in Ladder 49 with Joaquin Phoenix and I was impressed with both of them. I'm not used to seeing him without a gun but boy was i impressed with him!
Travolta is superb in this film an I can't wait to watch Get Shorty which is the next one up!
Uma Thurman also surprises me because so far the only thing I have seen her in is Kill Bill (which was superb). Seeing her without a samurai sword killing loads of people is a nice change. Her fluid transition from killer to beautiful woman working along side Travolta is pleasing to the eyes. I love it when I get to see actors trying a different thing, style and genre of film.
Vince Vaughn again is different, playing the white man that thinks he isn't white. He is laughable and somewhat impressive in how he manages to pull it off. I enjoy watching him play this character more than watching Chris Tucker in any film!
I take my hat off to all of them for making a really cool film that isn't super gangster-y and challenges all of them.

I am trying to make these reviews more like real reviews and so i haven't included the synopsis but i'm sure that you can find it on IMDB or Wikipedia.
I would recommend this film to anyone. I think that anyone can enjoy watching this film and i'm really glad that it was put on the list by Esther because some of the films on this list have been disappointing and very much not worth watching, but this is a nice change and perfect for a Saturday night.

It's also nice to know that Travolta made a decent film before he made Hairspray. There comes a point when actors reach their prime ( some sooner than others) and you start to think that they wont make a good film again, but Travolta is keeping up with the pressure of making good films.

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.