Network (1976)

Attempting to keep at a decent pace, last night I watched Network (currently ranked no.179 on imdb).

In Network, we see a newsreader get fired and then lose the plot a bit. He’s then used by the network to get ratings. A lot of the dialogue in the film is about the quest for ratings, at the expense of good taste valuing human life or integrity

There are lots of interesting points made throughout the film about the role of television in the everyday lives of people. Much of this is still as appropriate now (though perhaps with the medium of television being replaced by the internet). There’s also a lot of postulating about the role of corporations, and their relation to nations/governments and citizens, though much of this isn’t particularly fleshed out. There are a lot of speeches. It seems like all the main characters get to do some shouty pontificating at some point. As a result, at times it seems to get a bit preachy, though without any clear moral point throughout.

I found the main romantic plot-line very unconvincing. Start to finish, I found it quite difficult to buy into, or get invested in. It becomes (I think) pretty awkward and difficult to watch.

The pace of the film is quite disjointed. It doesn’t feel that cohesive. I’d say it’s a bumpy ride throughout, with the various speeches tossing the storyline in one direction or another.

I did find it enjoyable. There is certainly enough (if not too much) in the way of thought-provoking commentary on the media, the value of life and romance to make it an interesting watch. I think it would be appreciated a lot by those who enjoy conspiracy theories!

Annie Hall

So this morning I watched Annie Hall (currently ranked by imdb at no.182). I should start off by saying that I did like it, as much of what I say will probably paint a negative impression.

Though it revolves mostly around his relationship with the title character, this film is really about Woody Allen’s character, who seems to be essentially Woody Allen. We have a main character who so extraordinarily narcissistic that one of the devices employed in the film is his talking to random strangers on the street, who all have a vested interest in his shenanigans. A character who loves to think of himself as an intellectual and spends much of his time judging others who fail in some supposed way – a trait which manifests in all the relationships we see him participate in.

The film is funny, but not to the degree I had thought it might be. I’ve heard people rave that this was hilarious, but really, the laughs were (I thought) occasional and mild.

One way the film has been celebrated is for its breaking of “the fourth wall”. This was done really well and was very effective, but once again, we see that the film is about him, and how the audience sees him. The whole film is about this insecure, fidgety, jealous narcissist. Frankly, he’s not a likeable guy.

This is probably where the film fails for me. The entire time, we’re becoming acquainted with the Woody Allen character – experiencing his mental life and finding out how he sees the world – but he’s a very petty man, and one I don’t particularly care for.

All that said, the film is very clever, and it doesn’t seem forced, but a very natural cleverness. The entire process is pretty organic, and the ironies of various situations are made extremely apparent, but not forced. For this reason, despite being very unconventional in terms of various devices it employs, it’s a very easy watch.

All in all, clever film, funny enough, but not one I’m likely to rave about I’m afraid (sorry guys!).

Before Sunrise

Last night I watched Before Sunrise. I wasn’t sure what to think, so I thought I’d sleep on it before writing anything.

The gist of the plot is simple. A man (Ethan Hawke) and a woman in their early 20s meet on a train and have an instant rapport. He convinces her to get off the train in Vienna with him and spend the time before sunrise with him, before he must get a plane back home to America. As she lives in Paris, and he lives in America, it seems that this will be their only time together.

Because of the nature of this relationship, we’re invited to think about the value of relationships, how time is fleeting and all other sorts of things. The film does seem like it’s trying to be clever though, from the way various themes are brought up, to the uses of various shots. A little pretentious. Not that there’s anything wrong with being clever, but maybe here it seems a little forced, or obvious.

I did like that the thoughts the characters expressed weren’t always ‘perfect’, there are a lot of scattered thoughts, which added to the realism, yet didn’t detract from the nature of the relationship. I didn’t particular like Ethan Hawke’s character at times though (I thought he seemed like a bit of a vacuous douche), but this didn’t hinder my enjoyment all that much.

A nice film, thought-provoking and deliberately unsatisfying in some ways. I approve, but not going to be my favourite film ever.

The Help

This morning I watched The Help (imdb rank no.237).

The film tells the story of black maids in 1960s Mississippi, and how several tell their stories in the midst of the civil rights movement. Despite the hard-hitting subject matter you might expect from a film dealing with these topics, the film is often light and very funny. In parts, the way the characters react to their situation is very moving.

In terms of negatives (not that I really felt there were any while watching), the film probably downplays some of the workplace conditions. I am by no means an expert, but I expect physical/sexual abuse was also common, as well as the barrage of other sorts of discrimination. There are occasions where the film touches upon some horrific events of the time, as experienced by the characters, but perhaps not enough to do justice to the era.

It also might seem a bit odd that in a story of this sort, the main character (the primary protagonist with the most air time and examined relationships with other characters) is the white woman, aspiring to be a journalist, who convinces the maids to describe their stories. That could make you feel a little uncomfortable, but perhaps that’s the point.

Very enjoyable film. Both touching and satisfying.

Hachi: A Dog’s Tale

When I saw that on my list of films was one that starred Richard Gere and a dog, I was somewhat surprised. When you imagine a film that features Richard Gere and a dog, you might imagine some cheesy sentimental creation, ordinary and unspectacular. This was what I thought, so was curious to see why it was imdb’s 194th best film.

Unfortunately, I still don’t get it. I’ll keep this short: This is a cheesy sentimental film, with nothing that I could see that would make it stand out from any other cutesy animal film. There isn’t anything wrong with it, but a frankly non-outstanding film.

Papillon

“Blame is for God and small children”

So, this morning I watched Papillon (imdb no. 244).  Through the majority of the film I have to say I thought it was brilliant. A lot of the film has a similar tone to Shawshank, but I think does a lot of it better. Steve McQueen’s character – supposedly wrongfully convicted of murder – fights to escape a harsh prison system, and we witness some fantastically gritty realism.

I really enjoyed the use of various animals in the film (crocodiles, bats, crabs, insects, and butterflies of course). Towards the start there are also some nice juxtapositions between the occasional fairly whimsical scene and very dark scenes.

That said, I found the final third unsatisfying in places. There are areas where it jumps the shark a bit. The story moves in bizarre ways (which I shan’t discuss) and coincidences seem all to coincidental. For a fairly long section, the tone just seems completely out of place, and left me thinking “wtf?”.

Great performance from Steve McQueen though and a film I’m very glad to have seen. I’d recommend it for anyone who enjoyed Shawshank but wouldn’t mind things a bit darker.

Films update: Mary and Max and The Truman Show

So I’ve started my film-watching. The first I watched was Mary and Max (currently ranked no.171 on imdb), an Australian claymation film.

An Australian girl starts writing letters to an Australian man, who it is later revealed has Asperger’s. It’s pretty enjoyable, containing a nice mixture of quirky light-humour and serious undertones relating to the characters’ difficulties in interacting. The treatment of Max – the character with Asperger’s – and his views about his condition is sophisticated. I think I may recommend it to my brother Tom  (who has Asperger’s) as I think he might enjoy it.

 

After Mary and Max, I decided I would kick on and watch another. One I’ve seen before, but when I was young, is The Truman Show (currently no.235 on imdb).

The concept is simple. A man has been born into a reality TV show, where everyone he meets are actors controlling his life in various ways. He is happy there, but blissfully unaware that he is the star of The Truman Show, and televised 24-7. For a long time as a child I suspected that this was happening to me. When people seemed to know things they shouldn’t, or when coincidences or patterns seemed ordained/felicitous, I would suspect that people were scheming, and filming behind closed doors. Then this film was released, and I realised that it would be far too obvious if they let me see a film like that! (or a fiendishly clever double-bluff…?)

I’ve wanted to rewatch this for a while, as it is mentioned fairly regularly in philosophy seminars. Like The Matrix, it’s a good way to start people considering sceptical scenarios. How much can you know about the world if everyone is deceiving you all the time and how would you ever know if that’s the case, et cetera? In ethics we sometimes think about the value of authenticity. If a person’s life seems perfect to them, is it actually less valuable if the world is not as they perceive it at all? Why wouldn’t we want to be in a Truman Show-type situation if we’d never find out and be much happier?

Upon rewatching it, I was not disappointed. It does engage (briefly) with the issues philosophers like to think about, but doesn’t get bogged down in it. I think I would have liked to see a few other things probed a little. The audience, for example, is worldwide and avid. They buy his merchandise. Some even watch Truman sleep. If such a film were made now, I think we would be prompted to judge the audience more for engaging in this sort of practice. The lives of the other actors in the Truman Show could also have been looked at, particularly the characters of the wife, the best-friend and the mother. The way reality TV has become an increasingly pervasive and insipid phenomenon since the film’s release makes it seem particularly prescient.

I think it’s a great film. Very enjoyable, and recommended to anyone who likes to muse about potentially strange situations (especially young philosophers). When doing a bit of reading about the film, I was interested to see that the “Truman Show delusion” is a recognised psychological disorder, wherein people have delusions similar to those detailed in the film.

 

2015

In 2013, I set myself the challenge of watching the top 100 films, as according to imdb’s top 250 list (http://www.imdb.com/chart/top?ref_=ft_250). This was a fun and improving challenge. This year, I intend to watch all the films currently on the 250 that I haven’t seen (or haven’t seen properly – which I will decide as I see fit).

Here is the current 250, with films I have already seen in green (I’ve also put in orange a few that I think I should see again, on account of being drunk or too young the when I have previously seen them, but I’ll decide depending on how well I’m doing / how ambitious I’m feeling):

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
2. The Godfather (1972)
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. The Dark Knight (2008)
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
6. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
7. 12 Angry Men (1957)
8. Schindler’s List (1993)
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
10. Fight Club (1999)
11. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring(2001)
12. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back(1980)
13. Inception (2010)
14. Forrest Gump (1994)
15. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
16. Interstellar (2014)
17. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
18. Goodfellas (1990)
19. The Matrix (1999)
20. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
21. Seven Samurai (1954)
22. City of God (2002)
23. Se7en (1995)
24. The Usual Suspects (1995)
25. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
26. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
27. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
28. Léon (1994)
29. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
30. Casablanca (1942)
31. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
32. American History X (1998)
33. Psycho (1960)
34. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
35. City Lights (1931)
36. Spirited Away (2001)
37. Rear Window (1954)
38. Untouchable (2011)
39. Modern Times (1936)
40. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
41. Memento (2000)
42. The Green Mile (1999)
43. The Pianist (2002)
44. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
45. The Departed (2006)
46. Apocalypse Now (1979)
47. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
48. Gladiator (2000)
49. Back to the Future (1985
50. Alien (1979)
51. The Prestige (2006)
52. The Great Dictator (1940)
53. The Lives of Others (2006)
54. The Lion King (1994)
55. Django Unchained (2012)
56. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
57. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
58. The Shining (1980)
59. Paths of Glory (1957)
60. American Beauty (1999)
61. WALL·E (2008)
62. North by Northwest (1959)
63. Aliens (1986)
64. Citizen Kane (1941)
65. Amélie (2001)
66. Vertigo (1958)
67. M (1931)
68. Das Boot (1981)
69. Toy Story 3 (2010)
70. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
71. Oldboy (2003)
72. Princess Mononoke (1997)
73. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
74. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
75. Birdman (2014)
76. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
77. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
78. Taxi Driver (1976)
79. Double Indemnity (1944)
80. Braveheart (1995)
81. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
82. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
83. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
84. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
85. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
86. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
87. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
88. The Sting (1973)
89. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
90. Amadeus (1984)
91. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
92. Snatch. (2000)
93. Rashomon (1950)
94. L.A. Confidential (1997)
95. For a Few Dollars More (1965)
96. All About Eve (1950)
97. The Apartment (1960)
98. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
99. The Kid (1921)
100. Some Like It Hot (1959)
101. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
102. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
103. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
104. The Third Man (1949)
105. A Separation (2011)
106. Yojimbo (1961)
107. Toy Story (1995)
108. Batman Begins (2005)
109. Boyhood (2014)
110. Metropolis (1927)
111. Unforgiven (1992)
112. Like Stars on Earth (2007)
113. Scarface (1983)
114. Raging Bull (1980)
115. Up (2009)
116. Chinatown (1974)
117. The Great Escape (1963)
118. 3 Idiots (2009)
119. Downfall (2004)
120. Die Hard (1988)
121. Gone Girl (2014)
122. On the Waterfront (1954)
123. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
124. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
125. The Hunt (2012)
126. Heat (1995)
127. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
128. The Bandit (1996)
129. Good Will Hunting (1997)
130. The Seventh Seal (1957)
131. My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
132. Ikiru (1952)
133. The Gold Rush (1925)
134. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
135. The Elephant Man (1980)
136. Wild Strawberries (1957)
137. Ran (1985)
138. Blade Runner (1982)
139. The General (1926)
140. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
141. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
142. Casino (1995)
143. Gran Torino (2008)
144. The Big Lebowski (1998)
145. Warrior (2011)
146. Rebecca (1940)
147. V for Vendetta (2005)
148. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
149. Rang De Basanti (2006)
150. The Deer Hunter (1978)
151. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
152. It Happened One Night (1934)
153. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
154. Fargo (1996)
155. Judgement at Nuremberg (1961)
156. Trainspotting (1996)
157. Rush (2013)
158. Gone with the Wind (1939)
159. Into the Wild (2007)
160. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
161. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
162. Dial M for Murder (1954)
163. The Wages of Fear (1953)
164. The Sixth Sense (1999)
165. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
166. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
167. The Thing (1982)
168. Finding Nemo (2003)
169. No Country for Old Men (2007)
170. Dil Chahta Hai (2001)
171. Mary and Max (2009)
172. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
173. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
174. Platoon (1986)
175. Life of Brian (1979)
176. Incendies (2010)
177. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
178. Network (1976)
179. Touch of Evil (1958)
180. Annie Hall (1977)
181. Les Diaboliques (1955)
182. The Princess Bride (1987)
183. Sin City (2005)
184. There Will Be Blood (2007)
185. Stand by Me (1986)
186. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
187. Ben-Hur (1959)
188. The 400 Blows (1959)
189. Amores Perros (2000)
190. In the Name of the Father (1993)
191. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
192. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
193. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
194. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (2009)
195. Persona (1966)
196. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
197. Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)
198. Avengers Assemble (2012)
199. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
200. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
201. Gandhi (1982)
202. Donnie Darko (2001)
203. 8½ (1963)
204. Strangers on a Train (1951)
205. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
206. Infernal Affairs (2002)
207. Stalker (1979)
208. Jaws (1975)
209. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
210. Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
211. The Imitation Game (2014)
212. High Noon (1952)
213. Shutter Island (2010)
214. Notorious (1946)
215. The Terminator (1984)
216. The King’s Speech (2010)
217. Before Sunrise (1995)
218. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
219. Groundhog Day (1993)
220. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2(2011)
221. Ip Man (2008)
222. The Battle of Algiers (1966)
223. Rocky (1976)
224. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
225. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
226. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
227. La Haine (1995)
228. Memories of Murder (2003)
229. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
230. La Strada (1954)
231. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
232. Barry Lyndon (1975)
233. For a Fistful of Dollars (1964)
234. Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
235. The Truman Show (1998)
236. The Big Sleep (1946)
237. The Help (2011)
238. Jurassic Park (1993)
239. The Graduate (1967)
240. Roman Holiday (1953)
241. The Hustler (1961)
242. Swades (2004)
243. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
244. Papillon (1973)
245. Festen (1998)
246. In the Mood for Love (2000)
247. Rope (1948)
248. Prisoners (2013)
249. Stalag 17 (1953)
250. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… and Spring(2003)

I’ve clearly got a lot to do! I also intend to write a little bit about each film on here after I’ve seen it. Otherwise I never use this thing. 

Give me a shout if you want to join me to watch any of the ones of the list!