(500) Films of Empire - Day 114

230 - Howl's Moving Castle - 1 star
Well 150+ movies watched I've finally come across a film that I care as little about as this.
A young woman is cursed into becoming a 90 year old woman who seeks out the wizard Howl who might be able to lift the curse, yet ends up falling in love with.
The main problem I have (and there are many) is that Howl is an annoying, petulant idiot (maybe that's why he's voiced by Christian Bale, baa-zing!) and can't really find any reasons why Sophie would fall in love with him.
There is also a war subplot that is glossed over until the end of the film. Sophie kisses a scarecrow who turns back into a human being saying that true love broke the spell, but is informed that she loves Howl. Slightly miffed he quickly explains that he is the missing prince whose disappearance caused the war and that he'd better go home and sort it out.
Hated it, hated it, hated it.

203 - Monty Python's Life Of Brian - 3 stars
After my biblical epic disappointment earlier this week it was nice to see Python do Ben Hur but without the chariot race!
A very funny attack on faith, not God, but faith, with some classic moments but for me it isn't as good as the funnier more quotable Holy Grail.
But what a way to end, with 'Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life'. Just hope that they use it as the end credit music for The Road when its released tomorrow!

Days remaining - 251 Films remaining - 333

(500) Films of Empire - Day 113

21 - The Third Man - 3.5 stars
Yesterday a member of staff told me that after the release of Third Man, Carol Reed received a present from a fan with a note that read "I've just seen your new film and thought you might need this for your next one". The gift? A spirit level!
Indeed, one of the most visually striking things about this film is the use of 'canted angles' or the 'Dutch tilt'. Designed to make the audience feel as off-balance as Holly Martins during his investigation of his friend Harry Lime's death.
Set in occupied Vienna, the issues of the occupation and criminal racketeering have an added relevance today due to the current situation in Iraq.
The camera work, script and performances are all top notch, as is the claustrophobic sewer chase, however I can help feeling that the film loses some of its magic on repeat viewings. In that once we know the identity of the 'Third Man', we are essentially waiting 70 minutes for Orson Welles to show up and steal the movie from under our noses.
Therefore I am making this my first review to include a half star as I just cannot decide whether it should be 3 or 4. Will sleep on it and reevaluate later on.

176 - A Canterbury Tale - 3 stars
I wonder if this film was mentioned during any of the reviews of Michel Haneke's latest film The White Ribbon. Both deal with a small town under the grip of mysterious happenings, with punishments dealt to those who betray the town's ideals.
Specifically 'The Glue Man' who pours glue in the hair of girls who socialise with soldiers.
Two soldiers and a girl victim stay in the town for a while to unmask the 'Glue Man' before taking the 'Pilgrim's trail' to Canterbury to receive blessing or penance.
A great British mystery that promoted good relations between the US and British forces during wartime.


Day remaining - 252 Films remaining - 335

(500) Films of Empire - Day 112

488 - Princess Mononoke - 2 stars
My first taste of Anime and Studio Ghibli and this was an animated film on an epic scale with a cursed prince falling in love with a wolf girl and trying to stop a war between humans and the forest creatures. Typically bonkers fantasy fare from Ghibli with talking wolves and boars and a deer god with the face of a man, but quite adult for a cartoon, there are battle scenes with people losing arms and legs.
I didn't really connect with this film though as there wasn't a clear side to root for as both humans and animals were sympathetic except for a few characters.
Also the central romance element was slightly underdeveloped and the ending felt rushed, like the forest is saved, we'll all live happily ever after, goodbye.
I needed something more.

236 - My Neighbour Totoro - 4 stars
Now this one however was an absolute delight. A man and his two young daughters move into a country house while the mother is in hospital. To escape from the pressures of growing up and the worries about their mums health, the two girls descend into (what may or may not be) a fantasy world where they befriend a giany cuddly egg-shaped cat creature they call Totoro.
The scene where Totoro appears next to them at a bus stop in the rain and is given an umbrella is simply delightful.
A terrific family film that deals with a difficult subject (how to deal with illness and the pains of growing up) in a really beautiful way.

Days remaining - 253 Films remaining - 337

(500) Films of Empire - Day 111

Disappointing start to the day as I got 40 minutes into Ben Hur before the disc started skipping and I had to give up on it. Stupid dual layer DVDs, would be better off with a VHS!!!

164 - The Searchers - 4 stars
A truly iconic Western that showcases the dark heart of the West.
The film has everything a Western should; beautiful sweeping landscapes, cowboys and injuns, fistfights, some romance, and of course, The Duke, complete with his trademark long drawl "That'll be the day".
John Wayne gets his finest role as anti-hero Ethan Edwards, a man at odds with his own society and also 'The Commanch'. His hatred for them boils over when they kill his family and kidnap his niece. Ethan's racist feelings are brought to the fore when he is joined on the search by a part-Commanche relative, his repulsion at captive women turned Commanche, his desire to see his own kin dead than 'Injun', and the pain upon realising that he is no different to Scar, the Indian chief he has be hunting.
On seeing this again I noticed several scenes that have been referenced in other films; the iconic final shot was stolen/homaged by Tarantino in Inglourious Basterds when Landa looks out of the cabin towards the escaping Shossana. And the scene where Ethan and Martin return home to the burning homestead was used by George Lucas in Star Wars, all The Searchers needed was a couple of burning corpses! What a geek to notice things like that!
Also probably just nitpicking here but John Wayne and Jeffrey Hunter are out in the wilderness for five years looking for Debbie yet seem remarkabley clean shaven during this time. They are desperate to find her yet have the time to shave every morning?

48 - This Is Spinal Tap - 4 stars
I recently said that Anchorman was the comedy of the decade, but This Is Spinal Tap would have to be up there with Airplane as the most influential comedy of ALL TIME.
Without Spinal Tap we wouldn't have had the Christopher Guest comedies Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show, etc, programs like The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm and certainly not Anchorman or any comedy that relies on improvisation.
A rock 'n' roll mockumentary that is made even funnier by how realistic it is. Don't believe me, just watch Anvil! or even some parts of Almost Famous to see how accurately it reflects the life of a fading rock band.
The quality of the songs is also very good. People sometimes forget that McKean, Guest and Shearer did all the performances themselves, with such great tunes as Big Bottom, Hell Hole and Sex Farm.
There are so many classic moments ("These go to 11", "That one's called Lick My Love Pump", the Stonehenge model) but my favourite line is "You can't dust for vomit"!
So crank this one up to 11 and enjoy the laughs on Tap.

(500) Films of Empire - Day 110

Time to revisit a film that has had a huge impact on my life in terms of my film viewing and eventual career. I first saw this film 10 years ago as part of a film studies course I took at University. The course was the only one I really It opened my eyes to the language of film and how they are made. The first time I realised that a film could be more than just entertainment but a work of art. This appreciation for film that has developed over the years has steered me to my current job as General Manager of The Belmont. It has allowed me to indulge my love of movies and hopefully develop other peoples too.
But I'm digressing, time to review the movie;

28 - Citizen Kane - 4 stars
Will "The Greatest Film Ever Made", as many of the critics polls and lists often award, live up to its title?
It is a film that splits many people. Critics adore it, some hate it, a lot have never seen it.
Watching it again it is obvious that it is a film that is much easier to admire than to like or 'enjoy'.
From a filmmaking perspective it is an absolute marvel to behold. Probably as big a game-changer in its day as Avatar is today. It advanced the medium in terms of storytelling, camera shots and editing techniques such as dissolves (the initial fade up to Xanadu), montage (the breakfast scene), and most beautifully of all is the use of deep focus to create some stunning long shots. And all of this achieved by Welles at the age of 25!!! I'm coming up to my 30th birthday and it makes me feel lazy in comparison.
As for the story, it is more difficult to engage with. A reporter tries to discover the meaning behind 'Rosebud' and the real Charles Foster Kane behind the public image. The problem being that Kane is dead, and the stories about Kane are told by other people and therefore not from Kane's viewpoint, making it difficult for the audience to really connect with him (despite a great performance from Welles who plays him from 25 to 70, something that gets overlooked when people focus on his direction, production, writing, etc).
Towards the end of the film, the identity of 'Rosebud' is still elusive and the reporter remarks;
"Anyway, it wouldn't have explained anything... I don't think any word can explain a man's life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a... piece in a jigsaw puzzle... a missing piece."
To both the reporter, Kane remains an enigma or unsolvable puzzle... that is until the camera pans away and over the huge array of Kane's possessions until it lands on *spoiler cough cough*... I'm not going to tell you, go see the movie!
Now the audience has something tangible to work with but must draw their own conclusions as to what it symbolically represents.
This is what may frustrate modern audiences, some who demand that everything be spelt out to them in bold capital letters. There is a time for movies like this and a time for movies that make people use their brains and rewards them for it.
Personally I like a movie that gets people talking and provokes discussion after its finished, whether it's the true identity of Keyser Soze, what Bill Murray whispers to Scarlett at the end of Lost In Translation, or what is meant by Rosebud.
In closing, how best to describe Citizen Kane? It is similar to these 100 greatest film lists. When people vote for the 'best' films, they really are voting for their favourites. I do consider Kane to be one of the greatest films ever made, but in terms of enjoyment and if I was scanning my DVD collection for something to watch, it probably wouldn't be the first one picked off the shelf, so therefore I can only award it 4 stars.
That being said this is a film that everyone who is passionate about film should see at least once... that way you can make up your own mind and not have to go on what all the critics have written.

(500) Films of Empire - Day 109

 207 - The Misfits - 3 stars

Sometimes a film's legacy is more famous than the film itself and The Misfits is case in point.

Another film dogged by production problems and infamous for being the last film of leads Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe.

Clark Gable said he was glad that filming had finished because "working with Monroe nearly gave him a heart attack", two days later he had a heart attack and died.  Monroe died of a drug overdose soon after filming, having been in rehab during filming, hence the soft focus used on some close ups during the film.

But is the film actually any good?  You would assume so with it being at number 207 on a list of the 500 best films of all time... but it is a good film, if not a great one.

After seeing Some Like It Hot, I was no expecting Monroe to be as good as she was, showcasing a wide range of emotions as the divorcee who tries to find freedom in the West but instead has her innocence destroyed.

Her character is also responsible for causing men to fall in love with her at the drop of a cowboy hat.  Those to fall under her spell include ageing cowboy Clark Gable, rodeo rider Montgomery Clift and mechanic Eli Wallach.  With Wallach in the cast I couldn't help but imagine the film as a love triangle version of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

A good script provides a swansong for the ways of the old West as the cowboys start to realise that time is moving on without them.

P.S.  Funny to see Kevin McCarthy from Invasion of the Body Snatchers appear as her ex-husband.  I could see him running after the guys trying to stop them falling under her spell, "you're next. you're next, you're next!".

113 - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - 5 stars

"San Diego, which of course is German for a whale's vagina"

A few people I know have had the audacity to try and claim that this wasn't funny but if they don't laugh at lines like that then I don't want to be friends with them.  For not only is this the funniest and most quotable film of the last decade but also the most important.  Why, I hear you ask?  I'll tell you.

Not only does it have one of the best comedy casts of all time (Ferrell, Carell, Rudd, Vaughn, Wilson, Willard, Stiller, Rogen, Parnell, Black), but it signified the beginning of the Apatow era for comedy.  While only a producer on this film (albeit with a quick cameo "smells like a turd covered in burnt hair"), it proved a breakout platform for the improvisational comedic styling that Apatow would use so well to produce smash hits like 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, etc, etc.

There is a basic plot in here somewhere about news reporters, sexism and pandas but it is really just an excuse for the highest joke per minute ratio since Airplane.

While Brick Tamland might be one of the greatest comedy creation of the noughties, I have to give a special mention to Paul Rudd, who has gone from doing generic rom-coms to proving to be the Best Supporting Actor - Comedy of the last decade, before deservedly attaining lead actor status in Role Models and I Love You Man.

This is the film that I probably quote in real life more than any other (probably to the annoyance of work colleagues and friends), so they will often hear me say;

"I'm in a glass case of emotion!", "Milk was a bad choice", "Como estan, beetches", "Son of a beesting", "By the beard of zeus", "sometimes you've just got to say 'when in Rome'"

and I'm looking forward to the day that I can say this to a lady!

Days remaining - 256 Films remaining - 342

(500) Films of Empire - Day 108 - Some like it lukewarm

27 - Some Like It Hot - 3 stars

After a cracking Hogmanay night I woke up with a bit of a hangover but delighted to find another classic on the TV, what a good start to 2010.

Yet another film that it is amazing to think I haven't seen, with so many moments that feature on the usual '100 Greatest Lists'.

At the centre of the film is a terrific pairing of Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as two musicians who go on the run from mobsters, disguising themselves as women to be part of an all-girl group, led by the sexy Marilyn Monroe.

Curtis and Lemmon have a great comic timing between them, and are both game enough to throw themselves into there performances as 'Josephine' and 'Daphne', Lemmon especially, setting the standard for all sex swap comedies to come.  But Curtis's finest moments come as his third alter-ego; 'Junior', a Cary Grant spoof millionnaire who romances Monroe.  Best moment is when he claims to be unable to have feelings for a woman, kisses Marilyn then sits back down, "See... nothing!".

Monroe is the very definition of a star. Not an actress, but a star.

At times she is clearly reading from cue cards, Curtis said that kissing her was like "kissing Hitler" and there are legendary stories of Wilder having to do 80+ takes for one scene with her. I only wish she had live long enough to work with Kubrick, now that would have been fun to watch!

Despite all this her personality and natural charisma shines through as she plays Sugar Kane, a glorified version of herself, full of bubbly innocence and warmth.

A good comedy but it falters during the gangster scenes where the murders are very dark in tone compared to the rest of the film, also there was great potential in some of the minor characters who get lost in the second half of the film.

Overall I enjoyed it but was slightly underwhelmed on first viewing but that could be due to the fact that it has been hyped as one of the best films of all time and therefore has a lot to live up to, but as they say in the film... "Nobody's perfect!"