Yes, that's right Dear Reader, as if the 30-day song challenge and comic challenge weren't enough, I've taken the plunge and started the film challenge too! I'm obviously a glutton for punishment. As well as peanut butter. As in the previous challenges, some of the categories are a little bizarre so I may have to, er. reinterpret them as I go along. Here we go with Week 1 -
Day One
The first film you remember watching
No idea what the very first film I saw was ( something on telly no doubt ) but I think the first film I saw at the cinema may have been a re-release of Disney's Sleeping Beauty ( 1959 ), some time in the early 1970s. ( I believe this was in Gloucester's old Odeon cinema which was closed down in 1975 and, of course, turned into a bingo hall. )
Yep, still one of the coolest dragons in all of pop culture. I remember being very scared and excited by this and I couldn't believe the friend I was with was so scared he cried. I thought it was the best bit...
Day Two
A film you like that starts with the first letter of your name ( first dumb category alert! )
Some Like It Hot ( 1959 )
My all-time fave movie comedy. The combined talents of Monroe, Lemmon, Curtis, Wilder and Diamond forging sparkling, iconic Hollywood comedy gold from chaos.
Day Three
A film that has more than five words
( I'm taking this to mean more than five words in the title, or otherwise it could be any "talking picture" ever made. Ho hum. )
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind ( 1977 )
My second favourite Spielberg after that big fish movie
And also one of my favourite movies full stop. CE3K could easily appear in multiple categories across this film challenge and I could also very easily write an entire blog post about how much I love it. Maybe some other time. In the meantime, keep watching the skies...
Day Four
A film with a number in the title
Another no-brainer, it has to be Kubrick and Clarke's "ultimate trip" - monoliths, monkeys and mystery in space:
2001: A Space Odyssey ( 1968 )
I've posted about this movie before on this 'ere blog ( more than once, I think ) so I won't say much more except:
"Alexa, open the pod bay doors."
Day Five
A film where a character has a job you want
Roman Holiday ( 1955 )
I want Gregory Peck's newspaper reporter job so I can pose around a black and white 1950s Italy with Audrey Hepburn. There may be some writing involved too...
( The comment above has been recycled from a series of posts I did here many moons ago, under the title Massive Movie Meme. You can find these posts, should you wish to, by going to the "Labels" section to the right of this very page and clicking on MMM. If you do this you can keep track of just how many times I can plagiarise my own posts in the next few weeks. As well as adding more traffic to this 'ere blog. It's a win-win situation! Cheers! )
Day Six
Your favourite animated film
I struggled with this one but settled on the absolutely insane, plastic toy-based Belgian film A Town Called Panic ( 2009 )
One of the funniest, most imaginative films of this century, constantly topping itself with ever-escalating lunacy. ( And, yes, this is another recycled comment. Honestly... it's a good job you're not paying for this crap, Dear Reader. Unless, of course, you want to. Drop me an email, we'll sort something out... )
Day Seven
A film that you will never get tired of
Okay, I'm a film fan so obviously there are a lot of these and no doubt a few will turn up in this challenge, so I'll just go with the piscine perfection of
Jaws ( 1975 )
As I said above, this is still my favourite Spielberg movie. He may have made slicker movies, bigger-budgeted movies and more meaningful movies ( yawn! ) since Bruce first swam around Amity Island but, for me at least, none have had the sheer impact of this big fish tale. Outstanding performances, ever-increasing tension, endlessly-quotable dialogue and John Williams' unforgettable score - Jaws has the lot. It's the kind of movie that I've seen dozens of times and have on DVD ( of course ) but, if I'm flipping through TV channels and it's on, I will always, always watch it.
"Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies..."
And that's it for Week One. If anyone would like to join in with the challenge, please feel free to leave a comment with your choices. I'll be waiting. ( Does that sound desperate enough? )
Hi Simon, hope you and yours are all keeping safe etc. A fortuitous post as I am off work sitting in the house waiting for a delivery (which is looking more and more like a non-delivery) of furniture. I must be the only SF /comic book geek that isn’t a massive fan of 2001 a Space Odyssey, but I do really like all the other films you have noted (haven’t heard of “A Town Called Panic” so wil check that out later). Anyway to the challenge with the proviso that I will no doubt have forgotten a film that fits each category better immediately after I post this.
ReplyDeleteDay One - The first film you remember watching – Thunderball
Really difficult one this as like yourself, I’m sure the first film I saw would have been on TV. But I do recall going to the Rio or Odeon cinema in my then home town of Rutherglen to see Thunderball (closely followed by Sound of Music) .I remember my mum an dad picking me up a toy pack that had the scuba divers etc in Woolworhths a few days later. Just a brilliant Bond film and still one of my favourites of the series
Day Two- A film you like that starts with the first letter of your name - Philadelphia
I agree it is a pretty dumb category this one (there are a few others like this in the list) Anyway for me it’s a toss-up between Planet of the Apes and Philadelphia. The latter getting it as it was ground-breaking at the time, very well acted, addressed a worthy cause and despite being sad and showing the bigoted /ignorant side of human nature had a lot of hope in it..
Day Three- A film that has more than five words - One flew over the cuckoo’s nest
Only films can make you laugh one minute and cry the next and this is one that did that for me. I don’t recall seeing this on its release (1975/6 I think I would have been too young to get in to see it then) but seem to recall it was re-released in 1979 or 80 as I have a memory of seeing this in a cinema in Wishaw on a date (I can’t recall the cinemas name but it was known locally as the “Flea pit” which says it all)
Day Four-A film with a number in the title - Seven Samurai
I have only ever seen this on TV (and Video) the first time in the late 70s on BBC 2 I if I recall rightly very late at night – The cinematography and lighting on this film (if that means the pictures) are stunning – it’s a simple but brilliant story which as most folk know that was used for the Magnificent seven.
Day Five - A film where a character has a job you want – Hi Fidelity – Record store owner
I’ve really only picked this one as its alI I can think of at present - I suppose an astronaut, spy or a Vampire hunter is cooler but unrealistic. However, owning a record shop and producing music you like (albeit at small scale) like John Cusack’s character in this film does would be interesting (I’d stock comics as well lol)
Day Six –Your favourite animated film – Up
I love animated movies and “Up” for me shows how good mainstream films in this genre can be when done right. This is funny, but there’s also a bitter sweet element to it with the first 5-10mins being cute, sweet , very human and very sad.
Day Seven – A film that you will never get tired of – As good as it gets
Jack Nicholson for me just gets better as he gets older – Brilliant stuff if you haven’t seen it get it
Hi Paul. We're all well, thanks, hope you are too? Thanks for joining in with the latest round of post-lockdown fun. I'm ashamed to admit that of all the films you've mentioned I've only seen Thunderball, Hi Fidelity and Cuckoo's Nest - some film fan, eh? My son has a Blu-Ray of Seven Samurai and I really should persuade him to prise himself away from his PC so we can watch it.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind John Cusack's character's job too... even though he has to put up with Jack Black miming to Walking On Sunshine. At least he gets to play some cool music, date some gorgeous women, get advice from his spiritual Springsteen, and punch out Tim Robbins. ( Tim is one of my least favourite actors and will appear very soon in this film challenge. )
Stay safe and I hope your furniture arrived!
Hi Simon, hope you're keeping well. Yes, I'm here to inflict my opinions on you again - that'll teach you to invite me back!
ReplyDeleteSo, without further ado...
The first film you remember watching -
Funnily enough (or perhaps we're just the same age) Sleeping Beauty is mine too, and I completely agree with you about the dragon.
But to avoid repetition I'll choose the first live action, Daleks Invasion Earth 2150AD (1966). Theres a good chance I saw dumb Walt Disney flicks about dogs, VW Beetles or whatever earlier, but thats the one that made an impression.
It was before my family moved to England, so I hadn't seen the tv programme - who could forget the ruined city, or that first Dalek coming out of the Thames? Well, maybe some Dr Who fans would like to (I hear the film is actually a bit rubbish really).
A film that starts with the first letter of your name -
Simon of the Desert (1965)
My second one, and already a fancy foreign film with subtitles - oh dear, that won't do much for my reputation as a proletarian street-fighting man, will it?
I was thinking of fully entering into the dumb spirit of the category and going for a flick that actually started with my name, but the only one that came to mind was Shaun of the Dead, which doesn't even spell it properly (and I'm not that keen on the film anyway). So I went for one that started with Simon instead (;
A film that has more than five words [in the title] -
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Seeing as there doesn't seem to be a category for films that make you laugh, I'll list it here.
A film with a number in the title -
Four Lions (2010)
I like Chris Morris' stuff, and its pretty impressive how he tackled that particular subject at that time... and made it funny.
A film where a character has a job you want -
The Final Programme (1973)
I wouldn't mind being the James Bond of the underground and all-purpose messiah for the modern age (which probably just means I read too many Michael Moorcock books as a teenager).
Your favourite animated film -
Planete Sauvage (1973)
No idea if it necessarily holds up now - although the trailer on Youtube still looks good - but it blew me away when I first saw it (around the time I was getting into Heavy Metal magazine, when it seemed very much of a piece with the French stuff).
A film you will never get tired of -
Stalker (1979)
Totally amazing, and endlessly watchable.
-sean
Hi Sean!I'm well, thanks, hope you are too? You just carry on inflicting your opinions on me, I can take it :-)
ReplyDeleteThose old Dalek movies have a certain, rainy-Sunday-afternoon charm but are a bit naff really, aren't they? The second film is definitely the better one, though, and of course it's always great to see Peter Cushing.
Simon Of The Desert? I've never heard of that and I really should have. I've just Googled it and seen it's a Bunuel film so I'm definitely intrigued - the only Bunuel I've ever seen is Un Chien Andalou and I really need to see more of his work.
Holy Grail is, of course, one of the greatest films ever, ever made in the history of the universe. And features the scariest rabbit.
Four Lions was woefully neglected, I think. As you say, it was a brave choice of subject matter which could have been in disastrously bad taste but Morris is talented enough to make it work. Those poor crows, though...
I did watch The Final Programme many, many years ago and I really can't remember it. It looks very camp today but has a great cast of character actors. I should track it down being, like yourself, a big fan of Michael Moorcock - even though I know the film changes quite a bit from the original novel.
Fantastic Planet / Planet Sauvage - my son's got a nice copy of this movie and it still looks amazing, definitely reminiscent of the Metal Hurlant artists like Moebius and Caza.
Stalker - again, another film I've only seen once, a long time ago. I recently watched Tarkovsky's Solaris and was absolutely mesmerised by it, such a haunting movie.
Thanks again for the comment, Sean, and stay safe.