(500) Films Of Empire - Day 6

Had to be into work early this morning so no time for movie watching before heading to the cinema. Mondays are always a busy day as it's when we decide our film listings for the following week. Away We Go has not done very well so we're bringing in Hurt Locker and Dorian Gray, hopefully they'll prove more popular, fingers crossed.

Back from work and settling down for a quick movie before bed. With long days like these becoming a regular occurrence if I'm to have any chance of completing my challenge, it looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue!

368 - Airplane – 5 stars

Wow, the first film I've watched that I've awarded 5 stars to. Can't believe this is only at 368, surely the funniest film ever made and infinitely superior to the modern day spoof films like Epic Movie. Everytime you watch it, there is a new gag that you've missed. Really want to find a copy of Zero Hour!, the film that Airplane was based on/copied from, that would be an interesting double bill. Oh, one more thing, don't call me Shirley.

Six days in now and I've watched 12 films, an average of 2 a day, just hope I can keep up this pace.

(500) Films Of Empire - Day 5

An early start today as I got up early to watch a movie before heading to the pub to watch the football and catch up with my mates.

I chose the shortest movie I owned so I had more time to get ready before heading out so it was 87 minutes long and;

322 - Aladdin - 4 stars

I haven't seen this film since the mid-nineties but still holds up well against classic Disney and Pixar productions.  Also the first post-modern film from Disney (years before Shrek thought of it) by referencing celebrity culture and other Disney films.  Also James Cameron needs to be held to account for stealing the whole "Do you trust me?" part for Titanic.  This film was the one that established the need for having a big celebrity name as part of the voice cast, don't think anyone apart from Eddie Murphy has come close to stealing the show as much as Robin Williams did as the Genie in this film.

So after this blast from the past I headed off to The Dutch Mill for a double bill of a different kind; Man U vs Man City and Chelsea vs Tottenham.  First game was fantastic and ended 4-3 (much to my friend's dad'd delight!) but second game was a disappointment (despite ending 3-0).

After the game was over, headed back to my friends flat for a curry and got them to watch a movie from the list;

374 - Hot Fuzz - 4 stars

Better than Shaun Of The Dead, a fabulous spoof of the Simpson/Bruckheimer/Bay action movies of the 80's/90's all the while set in a quiet West Country town.  The Pegg/Frost partnership from Spaced and SOTD grows and grows and could be this generation's Morecambe and Wise.  Top Marks to Paddy Considine for playing against type.  One of the best British films in years.

Right, I'm off to bed as I'm knackered and a little bit drunk!

(500) Films Of Empire - Day 4

Saturday today, which meant a long shift at the cinema.  Early start and late finish, busy trying to sign up lots of new students to free memberships and giving the foyer a good spring clean (in the middle of Autumn).

Still time to squeeze in one film before getting some sleep. Disappointingly abandoned my attempt at linking the films together (tenuously or otherwise) because I have hit a snag... Lovefilm!

Wonderful resource in getting a hold of titles that are more obscure or I simply don't own but with a list of 272 titles queued up, I am at their mercy as to which films they send at any particular time.

And popped through the letterbox this morning was;

327 – Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas – 2 stars

Never seen this before and not sure if it was because it was really late and my mind was a bit switched off but I didn't really like this film that much.  Took ages to get going (which is not good for a 76 minute film), storyline was so-so, however the animation was excellent. Overall, I'm not sure what all the fuss was about. Certainly won't be rushing out to get a tattoo of it on my arm.

(500) Films Of Empire - Day 3

Keeping up a good pace with a further two films watched today.  From Robocop I moved to the man tasked with the remake/reboot/reimagining of the Robocop franchise; Darren Aronofsky.

And tonight would be a double bill of his two films on the list.

238 - Requiem For A Dream - 3 stars

Visually dazzling film where style nearly outweighs substance. Bloody hell, this is depressing stuff. Also features the scariest fridge since Ghostbusters!

Fortune favours the brave this evening as Film 4 was showing;

484 - The Fountain - 3 stars

I understood and appreciated this film a lot more second time around.  Probably Hugh Jackman's best performance. One thing is abundantly clear after this evening, Clint Mansell is the most talented composer working today (he also composed the score for Moon, the best film of 2009... so far)

You know between my ridiculously large DVD collection, Lovefilm and Film 4, I might just be able to do this.

(500) Films Of Empire: Day 2

Started the day with an early morning viewing of the follow up to The Sixth Sense;

452 - Unbreakable - 4 stars

Probably the best comic book movie about comic books.  Grounded in reality, this unique take on the superhero origin story is elevated by the great central partnership of Willis and Jackson.

After squeezing in a bonus screening of Adventureland in the afternoon (very good by the way but totally mismarketed as Superbad 2), it was back home to continue the blog. And how to link from Unbreakable?  Comic books, Samuel L. Jackson?  It's got to be...

406 - Iron Man - 4 stars

Effortless charisma and cool as Tony Stark made RDJ the hottest star in Hollywood and the coolest man alive. Great first effort from Marvel Studios. Not quite as good as The Dark Knight, but a hell of a lot more fun.

From one man in a metal suit protecting people to another in...

404 - Robocop - 2 stars

Iconic film in the 80's but has dated quite badly. Still very violent in a few places e.g. Dr Romano from ER melting in toxic waste or ED-209's first arrest.  Would I purchase it for my collection?  Not at full price but "I'd buy that for a dollar".

Right off to bed before a long day at work tomorrow.  Should be able to squeeze in a film when I get home though.

Good Night and Good Luck

(500) Films Of Empire: Day 1

The challenge is underway and already three films down.

500 - Ocean's Eleven - 4 stars

Forgotten how smart and slick this blockbuster was.  Great dialogue, cool soundtrack and more star power than a Bob Geldof charity single.  Shame about the sequels though.

499 - Saw - 2 stars

Not as good as I remembered.  Terrific premise and awesome score by Charlie Clouser but some terrible acting.  Was originally blown away by the twist at the end.  Guess its like Brian Cox's Robert McKee said in Adaptation... "Wow them in the end and you've got a hit".

Two films in and already I'm thinking that working down the list in numerical order would be boring, and involve a lot of hanging around waiting for DVDs to arrive.

Instead I'll take a magical mystery tour through the list moving from film to film by finding a link between them.  Kind of like a 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon' way (although he is not well represented in the list, but I did see JFK somewhere on it, no Tremors unfortunately).

So from Saw with that cool twist to a film that became defined by its twist...

332 - The Sixth Sense - 3 stars

Difficult to review it after the impact of that first initial viewing and the resultant twist (which I had seen coming).  So does it stand up to multiple viewings?  Well its no Fight Club, but the script is still very clever and Bruce Willis deserved more praise for performance, proving he is more than just John McClane.

(500) Films Of Empire: Challenge Begins!

Today I begin my challenge of watching all 500 films on the Empire 500 Greatest Films Of All Time list, as inspired by the film JULIE & JULIA.  The challenge has been described as genius/madness/incredibly geeky (delete as applicable).

Before I start, here are the rules:

1) Each film on the list must be watched (at least) once during the 365 days.

2) I must start at number 500 (Ocean's Eleven)

3) I must finish with number 1 (The Godfather)

4) I can watch the other films in any order I choose

5) At the end of each day I must post a blog stating which films I have watched and a review of each film.

To complete my challenge I will need to watch an average of 1.3 films a day.  I am armed with 150+ DVDs from my own collection, a Lovefilm list of nearly 300 titles, a lot of caffiene and takeaway pizza.

To view the complete list of 500 films I'll be watching go to http://www.empireonline.com/500 

Take it away George...