Anatomy of a Murder

Number 243

Day 26

Well number 243 was the 1959 Anatomy of a Murder, a brilliant court room drama. I really enjoyed this one and made this challenge worth while. If i had seen this start on TV i don't think i would have watched it  and boy would i have missed out.

Its a story where the excellent James Steward plays the defendant lawyer representing a man that shot a man that rapped his wife. what i like about the story is we never 100% sure was it rape or was it a case of his wife flirting with the man and they get carried away. What i also like is they don't make the defendant or his wife total likable , they leave us undecided whether should they really get off or not.

 I really like court room films, great debating , great dialogue , great tension. They don't really make many of these films anymore and i think this is because there a need to have films fast moving , bright lights , loads of special effects and a dramatic score which is very silly.

Why i love this film is its stripped back , basic sets (only about 3 or 4 ) no fancy camera angles , just good dialogue and good drama and it works.

Nosferatu

Number 244

Day 21

Number 244 was the 1922 silent film Nosferatu . This is about the Bram Stokers novel Dracula, one of the first ever made. This was my first ever silent film i had  seen. I think i was more entertained on watching a silent movie and how its made, than the content of the film its self. This film is 90 years old this year and was like been in a time machine watching it . I kept thinking my great grand father could have gone to see this film , even though i don't think there would have been a picture house in doneraile in 1922. My mind kept wondering what life was like back then and apart from getting in a delorean i think this was my best bet. 

I guess its not a good sign that i was thinking what life was like back then instead of been enthralled into the film its self. It started good enough but second half was draw out and the ending was very flat. However  it was amazingly scary , not very scary but scary enough considering there no talking in it and they did not have fancy SFX. the Score was very eerie and the way Dracula moved around was very well done. I would say watching this back in 1922 , you would be scared shitless. however has it stood the test of time ? not really it is 90 years old after all. 

The Incredibles

Number 245

Day 15

This was my 6th film in my challenge and this is arguable the best 250 films ever made. I was starting to wonder when i was going to get the film that made me go , wow i really enjoyed that. the other 5 i watched,i did enjoy but i did not have that glowing feeling afterwards. Well all that changed and the end of this one, the 2004 pixar cartoon the incredibles. A daring title to call a film  incredible but  it ticked all my boxes. 

A story of two super hero that got married but soon after been a super hero was outlawed and they had to live a normal life, something our male lead could not get the hang off. This had everything , humour , action , hearth warming family loving story, intense moments of will they make it to which made this very enjoyable to watch. 

The only thing i could mark this down on that it was very predictable , we probably  seen it all so many time , also how many times could Mr incredible escape and be re caught  but all in all these are small complaint and we are left with a very well made film. 

Role on the rest of the 245 films if they be as good as this. As it happens my next one is a silent film which is going to be interesting 

 Throne of Blood

Number 246

Day 14

A 1957 black and white Japanese take on Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' was at number 246. 20 mins in i was going what the hell, this is weird. But as time went on i got more into it. The story line is very good but this is down to Will Shakespeare really , his a good man to tell a story. I have never seen Macbeth before so i cant really comment on this version. 

The story is complex  and very interesting. i love how it shows how a self fulfilling prophecy can work out. It was a bit weird though , however it was a interesting film but not a brilliant one. I am at number 246 now and i still waiting to see a brilliant one. 

AVATAR

Number 247

Day 12

The 2009 blockbuster Avatar was next at number 247. Again i had seen this before but of course i had to re watch. I had seen this first in the cinema in 3D, in fact the first and only ever film i had seen in 3D. 

So does this deserve to be the in top 250 ? well if it was the top 250 films that looked good and had brilliant SFX then yes it be in the top 10. however James Cameron there more to a film that looking good, A original story line for starters would be good. this film is so busy showing us how cool it can look they seemed to forget about putting the rest of the film together. its two and half hours long , i was thinking they should have taken half a hour off it , to be honest they should have taken a hour off it. You are watching a scene in it and you are thinking is this scene in it to strengthen the story line or is it in to show off how cool the boys  can do 3d and i think its the latter. 

As it watched it in 3d first time around  this was the  first time in 2d, it looked a bit weird to watch.your thinking this is shot at this angle to make the 3D look cool, it was all very distracting . it was also like watching a play station games at times and it look so fake. Films have benefited from blue screen but there no need to film the whole thing in front of them James. 

So to recap the best and arguable only good thing about the film been how it looked is not that good and looks fake the 2nd time you watch it. of course i seen lots of worse films. the story is not that bad in parts but this does not deserve to be in the top 250. 

CASTLE IN THE SKY

Number 248

Day 7 and 8 

Well this Film took two days to watch, not because its so long or boring that it took two days. more so because i feel asleep day 7. I was able to watch this on You tube which was great as i did not have to download it, it came in 9 15 ish min parts. I decided to take the laptop to bed and watch it there. All was going well and i had woken up to see that i had fallen asleep on part 4 . I then had the great sleep deprived idea that it be a good idea not to close laptop and place it on floor but instead to replay part 4 . I say i lasted 30 secs before i was gone again and i don't even remember waking up again . Woke up next morning to see laptop on the ground and having that awful feeling did i place the laptop down in my sleep or did i roll over and it fell. Well as you are reading this you can guess i must have sleep placed it. 

Anyway on to the 3rd film of my challenge Castle in the sky a Japanese cartoon made in 1986. I will admit that i was not looking forward to this at all. I am fairly open to watching new things but was dreading watching a japanese  carton. When i was growing up we only had two television channels and after school only one of them had kids programs, so we had to watch what RTE decided was best or more so what was cheaper to buy. I  remember  they had some awful badly dubbed  Japanese  cartoon that i think scared me for life so the taught of watching this was giving me hives. 

However i was  pleasleted surpirzed  with this film, It was duded into English fairly good. instead of thinking of watching a crap film it turn out to be a good film, it stopped short at been a great film but we cant have everything. Its was a interesting different story of a young boy and girl trying to get to a magical land in the sky. and of course there bad guys , two sets even for good measure. However one set turn out good in the end. its was a well taught out story but a lot of flaws in it. The hero boy was mad to protect the lead female role , what was all that about ? should there not have been some character building first ! also the laughing dubbing scenes where a bit cringey. 

So over all it was a good film and was enjoyable but i don't think  desuring  to be in the top 250.

SHUTTER ISLAND

Number 249

Day 6

Well few days have passed and i only on my second film. i need to speed up if i am going to do this in a year. 


Any way number 249 was Shutter Island, a film i had seen before but had to re watch for my challenge. Watching it the second time was a total different experience to the first time , all be it a lesser one. Still enjoyed watching it the second time but due to the twist towards the end you don't get shocked by it. 


Its a very good film with a brilliant score that keep you guessing all along and where your not total sure what going on. Leonardo DiCaprio is in the lead role doing a good job but he cant seem to play more than one style but it does suit him. Ben Kingsley steals the screen and shows off his very good acting style. 


First time i watch this i really enjoyed it, the twist at the end i did not see coming until the very end. Of course there people that say they saw the twist coming at the start of the film but i never believe them ! second time around was interesting as you knew the outcome you can watch all the clues that where put in.   


good job by Martin Scorsese  that deserving of its place in top 250 flims.