Foreword

Well it's the first month of watching the list and I am woefully behind on my films. I have seen a grand total of 22 Films in January, so in no uncertain terms, in February I have to step it up a gear. In relation to this, I'm planning a couple of film weekends with some friends to watch extra films for February. I may even Periscope a couple of them, if anyone is interested of course.

There have been some standout moments, so read on if you would like to hear how some of these "classics" hold up. There is also a summary at the bottom that covers my feelings overall.

I do feel like qualifying my personal take on these films by saying, if I don't like some of these films, that it isn't to the detriment of the film itself (well maybe there are some). I'm positive some films just don't gel with their audience or singularly a viewer. Some films I'm just not going to like and that's fine, some of you will and how amazing is that really. Film/Cinema can be that divisive, which makes it special because of the individual experience. Subjectivity is the key here for my articles, but having a chance to talk openly about the experience counts for something I believe. I guess we'll see.

Anyway, to the films!

The Films

1. 12 Angry Men

I'm one of the few "lucky" people to have done Jury Service and this film gets quite close to reality. The key to the whole picture and the thing that makes this film so great, is the individual natures of each character and how they all communicate the story to each other, their feelings, their intent. Most importantly the details of the crime with some twists thrown in for good measure.

It's a little grand at times, a little like a play, not unlike Mamet. That said, it was the era of this particular type of film and Henry Fonda is like a lightning bolt to the point throughout. There is also a little detail for an eagle eyed viewer, try and spot the Fly! As a final affirmation, you feel like you go on a journey with the characters and considering it's within the confines of one room, it is a testament to the writing and direction. It's breathless in its execution therefore, and a total joy to watch. Loved every second of it.

2. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

Have you ever met anyone who terrifies you, but also fascinates you? I could probably count on one hand the people whom I have met that fall into that category. Aileen would be among that list.

Aileen is captivating, and here is why I think that is. Aileen starts a conversation with a big wild smile, a clue as to her nature is in her wide eyes, but she starts to talk about things in a matter of fact way, her life, her feelings, her thoughts and you glean how she really feels, no topic is off the books until something finally strikes a cord and she turns on you. It's like trying to be affectionate to a beaten stray, and that really has been her life for the longest time. On the fringes, beaten and estranged and it's hard not to sympathise with her situation, which is the film's purpose.

Nick Broomfield does his level best, but his voice over and random segways get in the way of the meat of the picture. I do struggle with a documentary director who inserts himself into the issues of the film, though it's interesting how his influence and association previously affects the course of the picture. Overall a fascinating watch, but handled in a way that can appear frustrating. I liked the film and the subject, but didn't enjoy the direction. I do need to mention the music as well, god that music was crap.

3. The Red Shoes

Sometimes you enter into a picture, half remembering something and get taken by surprise. My best friend and writing partner Jon Taylor, and myself, used to be part of a performing arts school. The first play we performed was The Red Shoes. We were quite young and I had no idea what it was about. I was Pauper #4.

Surprisingly, the film takes place during the production of The Red Shoes and the discovery of a new ballerina. It's a grand melodramatic tragedy. The lead actress Moira Shearer is stunning, in every classical sense. Ballet it seems, has always been quite sexy. Anyway, the narrative is a little easy to predict as it mirrors its source material, but the feeling of scale, the grandness of the production and the middle musical number which looks like an expressionist nightmare, are quite fantastic and breathtakingly vivid.

Hard not to feel enraptured by this film, made by old masters at their best, knowingly playing with the premise; a story regarding artistic devotion. Black Swan has a lot to answer for in that sense.

4. Bull Durham

I'm a chubby white guy, living in suburban Lancashire. The closest I have been to a baseball is a VHS copy of The Sandlot and the only time we ever played a game like it, was "Softball" and "Rounders". Both games have names made by a psychopath, because there is bugger all round about triangle base positions. Plus the softball that collided with my knee, nearly took the damn thing with it. So anyway I have reservations about the game of Baseball.

We see Kevin Costner dial it in, well kind of, he is at his best in scenes where he gets to be a dick to people which is the basis of his character, so that's often. Tim Robbins gets introduced via a semi sex scene so that's an up, I guess. Susan Sarandon does her fair share, waxing about her religion that is baseball and occasionally getting frisky. I was surprised by the amount of sex in this film and that definitely kept me distracted while the baseball was ongoing. The dialogue is fantastic with zingers like "you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a fucking boat!" and I hear is a line from reality, like the best ones are.

The baseball segments had me sleepwalking through the picture, but my favourite bit is the Kevin Costner/Susan Sarandon sex scene, but not for obvious reasons! My hope is it was intended to be the best parody of every daft and outlandish sex scene ever, because if it was, it succeeded. Best bit of the picture. Otherwise it isn't half as good as The Sandlot, which contained no sex scenes, James Earl Jones, a giant dog and made baseball fun. Thinking about it, James Earl Jones and Kevin Costner have done a lot of Baseball movies, they must be fans...

5. F for Fake

If you have been on any courses regarding filmmaking or film discussion, you hear of "F for Fake". Before we start, a confession, I didn't like it. I thought it was overwrought and pompous. The story of liars, thieves and art was an absolute chore to watch and seemed to be a vehicle for a model, whom further reading indicated Mr Welles was having a relationship with off camera. It shows I'm afraid. Orson Welles is the absolute key to unlocking the film, without him, I would have switched off completely.

At all times he commands attention in a feline way. He toys with you and is an old hand at doing it, you like him because of his warmth and his intelligence. He doesn't patronise you and so he appeals to your intellect and that's it, you're putty in his hand. A totally captivating man and director, but this film is barely a glimmer of his potential. If you love Orson then watch it, but half the interviews he has ever given, amount to more than this picture brings. The component parts of this picture I'm afraid to say, just don't do it for me, but the editing is breathless and inventive which brings life to the rather flat material.

God we miss you Mr Welles, and thankfully there are better examples of you at your best.

6. Thin Blue Line

I arrived at this film just in time for the "Making a Murderer" documentary on Netflix, to begin exploding social media. The similarities are so apparent it's breathtaking. It's a different set of circumstances but the outcome is the same, without giving away too much.

What stands this film apart is the cinematography, that was my biggest take away. There is this placid, almost mundane regularity to the composition, but there is almost a sense of dread in the close ups. It just reminded me a lot of other material from the same era. In fact the similarities in style I drew comparison from were Tak Fujimoto's cinematography in Silence of the Lambs, or Frank Byers from Twin Peaks. It's almost televisual in nature, but there is this sense of the creeping camera, the focused eye. It made the film feel a little dreamy and a little haunting as well.

Aside from that, it's the delivery of the plot points and the information that's revealed piecemeal, while still referring back to the salient points, that gives the audience room to breathe and understand the material completely. Regarding the subject, it's just a total nightmare scenario, one we all dread, that a man who's found guilty by his peers is innocent in evidence. That we are fallible, the system is fallible and the errors and judgements are staggeringly without repercussion.

Overall an excellent documentary in visuals and content and definitely "Making a Murderer's" long distant sibling.

7. Rosemary's Baby

Well the movie starts with a creepy girl singing (who it turns out was Sissy Spacek herself!) and titles from a porno. Then the real movie begins. Unfortunately the premise has been killed for me, blame panel shows!

So I began to admire other aspects of the movie, like how much that apartment would be worth these days, Old Lady Castevets is from Harold and Maude, how Rosemary is incapable of telling people to "fuck off because I'm pregnant and I want to eat chocolate!" or something to that effect.

Some elements of the film are a little contrived and I doubt any woman in her right mind would put up with her husband's excuses and actions like Rosemary did. I mean the guy sexually assaults her in her sleep so called and she keeps the baby. Well done guy, grade A husbandry.

It's definitely a provocative picture, but I doubt I will re-watch it anytime soon, because I felt like I was being toyed with and that will kill my interest in a picture outright. Sorry.

8. Touch of Evil

I think the opening to this film has been replicated so often, it appears commonplace. In the context of the film it's just brilliant. The incidental lives, the webs of deceit all going on just behind the scenes in a grubby little border town.

It's a great film although not without its individual problems. Charlton Heston is probably the wrong choice for the lead but Janet Leigh, what a timeless beauty she really was. Welles plays his part well but the descent of Captain Hank is rather sharp. Zsa Zsa Gabor is piercing and a little wasted. There is an element of "reefer madness" in the middle portion that comes off a little naive and the final portions are quite brutal and a little shocking.

The end set piece is fantastic though, I'm not saying a damn word, but it's a thematic ballet and beautifully executed. It's a great watch and deserving of its classic status.

9. Being John Malkovich

If you start a film with puppets, you have your audience's attention. In fact any object that vaguely resembles a human but isn't human, everyone is deciding whether to jump into the rafters like a crazed chimp or smile at how lifelike it becomes when it animates. It's a 50/50 gamble and totally related to your experience of watching this whole film.

I really liked this film to start, because it was just flat out committed to its premise. The film does some real crazy things, but also lets its actors play against type and that manifests narratively later on. The ending really has much to be desired. God, too many dark questions there.

If you just go along with it and don't think too deeply, it's good, but dig a little deeper and the narrative underpinnings start to fall apart. Watch it though, just watch it, I was laughing throughout, but be prepared for some head games as you go.

10. Hoop Dreams

Getting what you want, and getting what you think you want. It's not a new concept, it's the nature of passion and drive and many other aspects of human endeavour. I knew it long ago, but living it is totally different.

Two boys, equal in skill I would say, but slightly different in their upbringing. Minor differences, they still suffer the condition of being young, gifted and black in American society. A topic that will still be argued over for the remainder of the next 50 years as they try and transition a social underclass that has been ghettoised, into an integrated American culture.

This documentary was filmed in the 90's when sports and sponsorship ran roughshod over the ambitions of these young athletes for monetary gain. Does it still go on today? I can guarantee it, meat grinders never run out of pulp for sausage. A half quote from a talent scout in the film, I kid you not! Sports appears to be stronger than ever.

The most impoverished individuals, unprepared for this reality, get spat out pretty quickly and the film follows that course to its conclusion, while a slightly more capable boy has a different set of circumstances. Always, life seems to get in the way.

This was a hard watch for me. I would assume it would be hard for my brother Adam too, having been denied the chance to join the Royal Air Force, a grudge he still bears to this day. Both of us mirrored in these boys, somewhat, but remembering that we are from totally different backgrounds. We cannot be persecuted for our race, but we can be abused for our passions. The unifying experience of the film for me was about how you deal with it? How do YOU make it better? Do you blame the system and give in, do you push because you know it's what you have to do? Most give in, the successful do not.

11. Come Drink with Me

I love Shaw Brothers films, but this one I didn't know much about, if at all. The name is a total deceit by the way, it has bugger all to do with drinking, bar one character. This character happens to be the only one who drinks, and is coincidentally called "Drunken Cat".

It's a film about a prisoner exchange after a kidnapping, with some wicked set pieces. Unfortunately the technical aspects of the picture betray it a little. Weird camera positions, choppy edits, it's quite slow in places and for reasons I can't say, the lead character is 'replaced' in the middle part of the film.

It all culminates in a battle and then a twist, to resolution. It also has some totally bizarre Chinese legends of Kung Fu mysticism thrown in for good measure, namely towards the end where it goes totally barmy.

It's a bit camp, quite dated and definitely daft. Martial arts fans will cherish it, but everyone else will be scratching their heads.

12. Up In Smoke

You know there are certain films that despite the fact they are from an era that isn't your own, they translate a subculture, a time and place better than anything else. Up in Smoke is a film where I felt like I knew what it would be like to down and out in Beverly Hills, in the 1970's.

This film also is the call to arms for all forgotten stoners. God how many times have heard this Film mentioned from people in Metal bands.

I loved it, it's a total farce throughout and it's a roadtrip movie which helps to literally drive the plot along, even when something as simple as driving the car while off your tits from a burrito spliff is comedy nirvana.

13. Out of Africa*

I began watching the film, got about 10 minutes in and totally gave up on it. I'm not happy about that, but I really just wasn't in the mood to be "Streeped" all afternoon. In case you're wondering what being "Streeped" is, it's to have an actress try really hard for an award and it makes the character totally unlikeable as a result. I will get around to this one again, but I'm not expecting much. Let's hope it surprises me.

14. It's A Wonderful Life

I get nervous when people say something is a must see. Hell, I'm nervous about completing this list and being totally unsatisfied at the end of it. Can you imagine?

I told my friends that I had never seen this film and the response was borderline disgust. So I did the sane thing and watched it in January when all the Christmas fuss had died down and we are all a stone heavier. I started to watch the film and immediately I was struck by the fact that the supernatural elements did not exclude space, they smartly chose to include it and I thought that was a brilliant touch.

The film though, the film is brilliant and the balance in tone, well, they absolutely nailed it. I was invested in the arc from the off, balled like a newborn baby with joy and sadness at the last 3rd of the film, jesus, talk about ramming home a message of optimism.

Just watch it, for God's sake, just do it, even if it's mid July. Totally worth it.

15. The Wild Bunch

I'm just going to go straight to the point, this whole film is about the loss of youth and the weariness age brings. Every character, bar one, the youth, is going through their own personal turmoil regarding a misspent youth or a life of regret and that is fascinating, if a little dower.

Fans of Red Dead Redemption will recognise a few locales in this film and definitely a couple of set pieces. Overall I liked the film, but it takes so long to get to the resolution that I found myself struggling to remain interested.

The ending is brilliant, but bonkers and mirrors the opening. Sorry if I am a little vague, but I don't want to reveal too much as the plot is threadbare to characterisation. You do feel for these characters, but the ending is clear to see from the off and just takes its time getting to it.

16. Last Tango in Paris

In the history of Cinema, few directors have been accused by their own cast of making pornography and Bernardo Bertolucci is one of them. I think they are wrong, but with modern, worldly eyes I would say that.

This film wallows in self pity and it does serve the directors needs more than the narratives own. So you could allude to the pornographic aspects of the film. It is a film of two halves really, and it suffers a little because of that. Paul is baseless and lost, the latter half is his personal downward spiral. In so doing nearly taking Jeanne, the love interest with him in the fall, that is until she denies him of it.

Marlon Brando as Paul has some sharp, honest moments in this film that really grabbed my attention. Jeanne, I felt little sympathy for, bar one scene of course. She comes off as a little brattish, a little lost herself maybe. Does she deserve the abuse she suffers? No of course not, but she chose to be in that affair and remain in it until its end. Honestly I don't know, I don't know how I felt about their situation in the end. That was my take away, a vague understanding of what was really wanted and never fulfilled.

17. The Princess Bride

Well it's a film that appears on greatest lists, all the time. How did I feel watching this film? Underwhelmed, but the bits that mattered and weren't completely meta, I liked a lot. Inigo Montoya is a wonderful character, Princess Buttercup is a little dull but pretty, like the flower. Fezzik the Giant played by Andre the Giant can't act, but he is a giant so who cares. Westley never changes his damn expression for the whole film. The villains were ok, I can't complain, though a little one dimensional.

The rest of it is contrivance and cameos, with occasional interventions from Peter Falk and that kid from the Wonder Years. It was fun but I struggled. Maybe something is wrong with me, maybe it's those lost years where I believed Men in Tights was one of Mel Brooks return to forms. As you wish. I sat, I watched it, liked some of it and it's done.

18. Blue Velvet

I have owned Blue Velvet for a little over the year. It was bundled with a David Lynch BluRay collection. I'm a big fan of Lynch, loved Lost Highway, Eraserhead, Mulholland Drive, and I plan on discussing Dune in a video essay in the near future.

Now this film, I thought starts well and ends strangely. I thought it was interesting that Lynch chose a visual metaphor at the beginning of this film, that could quite easily encapsulate his entire design in Film Direction. A soft, warm slice of 50's Americana, then things go wrong and underneath it all is a writhing mass of refuse and creatures that crawl, just beneath the surface. It's a hell of a statement and one Lynch has been making since he started Film making.

The trajectory of Jeffery is an interesting one and it's that loss of innocence and the begging need to return to it, that drives the pictures and its dark sojourns. Totally provocative, with occasional outlandish performances from Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell, interspersed with a rather haunted performance from Isabella Rossellini. I liked it, but I think Lynch has made better interpretations of this idea. I'm not saying too much, this film is for the viewing.

**19. MAS*H**

Where to start? I thought this was awful.

I thought it was a "knowing" satire, that it loved the idea of the point it was trying to make, got lost and then it failed to make a point. That it had a lot in common with Porkies or Animal House, which I'm not massively interested in. It was a little juvenile and it resolves without much to offer.

I just didn't get what they were trying to say to me. The only comparison I can draw is it is like Carry On Doctor and Apocalypse Now had a baby, and then moved to Korea.

The film just felt like a fist pump and I was bored. Sorry, didnt like it and I don't have many more things to say about it. A shame really given its high esteem.

20. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

Another Shaw Brothers film, this one I knew a lot about as it stars Gordon Liu from Kill Bill (Tarantino has been banging on about this film for years). I walked into this picture prepared for some mastery and there was definitely lots on show.

The first thing that struck me was how young Gordon Liu actually is in the film. The second thing is the classic Shaw martial arts demo as a title. I still think you could make a whole music video in this style, anyway. The film at first is quite sure of its pace and a big fight ensues between the Tartars and the Cantonese. Lots of people get killed and the protagonist flees while being pursued by some armed shits on horseback. Finally he arrives at the temple, then the film slows right down as we learn the in's and out's of a Shaolin's training.

At this point the film feels totally different for me. In fact we could have easily started the film from that point. Unfortunately the time taken to show the training rushes the end in a rather unsatisfying way. So the three quarters of the picture are excellent but the ending is very abrupt. It doesn't matter anyway as there are several sequels so, in due course I may pick a couple up to watch.

21. Breakfast at Tiffany's

Audrey Hepburn was a lady my uncle John Parker worked with, when he was a Cameraman for Unicef in the 80's. John has always maintained she was the most beautiful woman that he had ever worked with. I like to believe he meant it completely.

It's difficult not to fall hard for Audrey as Holly. What I found so striking about this film is the underlying darkness present in the lives of Holly and Paul. Prostitutes though they both are, in varying degrees. Also a special mention regarding the character Mr Yunioshi. I can't believe that the director went ahead and Yellow-faced Mickey Rooney, it's just abhorrent.

Cat was the best character though, and having just come out of writing a script about a cat myself it struck a chord, more than a little. Anyway worth a watch but it really has some rather dated perceptions and at the same time some rather modern ones too.

22. Point Blank

I have seen Payback with Mel Gibson, apparently this film is based on the same book called "The Hunter". This film is better. It's more focused, it's colder, harder and more brutal. It felt like a gritty pulp masterpiece and it felt like an honest portrayal of the content.

Lee Marvin is savage, the fights are the same. Angie Dickinson reminded me so much of Ellen Barkin it was a little shocking, I thought they were relatives.

Overall it was just an absolutely brutal picture and despite some suspension of disbelief required in some instances, I really grew to like this film.

All good things.

Summary

Well the first month is done and what did I find? Some really funny and insightful films. Others that I don't think stand up to the test of time. Others are worth a first time viewing without the need of a second see. The final few I did not like, at all.

I would say that the classics among the list are beating the newer films, which is very surprising. There is definitely a difference in the quality of the execution and even, I dare say, the performances.

Of these films, I would probably buy: Point Blank, It's a Wonderful Life, Touch of Evil, The Red Shoes & 12 Angry Men. Maybe Up in Smoke, still not sure about owning that one.

The films worth a first watch are: Breakfast at Tiffany's, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Blue Velvet, The Wild Bunch, The Last Tango in Paris, Hoop Dreams, Being John Malkovich, Rosemary's Baby, The Thin Blue Line & Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer.

The films I didn't take to are: The Princess Bride, Come Drink with Me, F for Fake & Bull Durham

Films I'd rather forget: M*A*S*H & Out of Africa (need to re-watch though, so my opinion may change).

That's all I'm afraid, see you in a month with Part 3.