There weren’t too many options for Number 25, but this seemed like a decent punt. Directed by Spike Lee and starring Ed Norton, the film charts 24 hours in the life of a post-9/11 New York drug dealer, who is enjoying his last day of freedom before being sent down for seven years. Glossing over … Continue reading »
Yeah, anyway, so Day 24… It was a toss-up today between this and 24 Hour Party People. Twenty Four Seven shaded it (just), mainly because it got 5 stars in Empire. I’m shallow like that. It also had the added bonus of a rare starring role for Bob Hoskins, who recently retired from acting due to the onset of … Continue reading »
If I’d known that the challenge would extend well into February, I would have held off until the recent documentary Room 237 was released on DVD. Now that really does appeal to the geek in me – exploring hidden meanings and conspiracy theories in The Shining. But it’ll have to wait for another time. Besides, I would never have come across … Continue reading »
Released at the same time as M*A*S*H in 1970, Catch-22 suffered in comparison with Robert Altman’s radical war satire, which heralded a new and uncompromising method of film-making. According to Peter Biskind’s Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (1998), even the director, Mike Nichols admitted as such: “We were waylaid by M*A*S*H, which was much fresher and more alive, improvisational, … Continue reading »
At the beginning of January, Empire Magazine re-published their 500 greatest-movies-of-all-time list and challenged the readership to watch them all in one year. That is categorically (going by my record here) not going to happen. But it’s worth mentioning that 21 Grams is the third film this month to fall under that grouping. The first two being … Continue reading »
I tried very hard to avoid watching 2012 as today’s option. Disaster movies have never been my cup of tea since being traumatised by seeing burning bodies falling out of a lift in The Towering Inferno. Plus the fact that it looks a bit crap, and I’d rather not waste my allocation on films that I know … Continue reading »
I think if I do this challenge again, I need to be slightly more organised on the advanced viewing front. Still, I suppose it’s the principle that counts rather than a strict adherence to chronological accuracy. When I was in Sixth Form, I could usually be found playing snooker very badly (in a room that … Continue reading »
I’m beginning to run out of options on the numbers front. So today, I was lumbered with an 80s body swap comedy starring the drippy bloke from Diagnosis Murder. Unexpectedly, I quite enjoyed it. Released in the same year as Big, the film probably suffers from not starring Tom Hanks. I certainly hadn’t heard of it before … Continue reading »
I got into trouble after watching this film. As I was recommending it to Bob, I casually mentioned that a certain actor was in it: “he plays the bad guy”, I said. Doh! Apparently the rule of spoilers still holds true even when the film was made 60 years ago. Consider me in the doghouse. … Continue reading »
Sometimes a film comes along and makes you re-evaluate what makes good cinema. I mostly go into films looking for entertainment and, at best, something to think about. I like being challenged, and surprised, and captivated. So far this month I’ve had varying degrees of all three. I’ve talked about stuff I’ve seen in terms … Continue reading »
