Ferris Bueller’s day off

American comedy from 1986.
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara
Director: John Hughes
Writer: John Hughes
Bechdel test: Pass

Exposition

Reactions

Contemplations

Judgement

Epilogue

Over to you

If you’ve recently seen “Ferris Bueller’s day off” or you’re watching along with my year of movies, please leave a comment below with your thoughts on the movie or note down your opinion somewhere else.

71 movies down. 294 to go.

If you want to get “Ferris Bueller’s day off” from Amazon, here is a link for that. They probably have the movie many other places too. Maybe it’s on a streaming service you subscribe to already?

Tomorrow’s movie is “The third man”. Get some more information about this movie and the other movies on my watch list this week on the upcoming movies page. If you’re new to this site and are wondering why I’m watching a movie every day for a year, read more about my experiment.

Until next time; live long and prosper.

The rules of the game (La règle du jeu)

French black and white comedy from 1939.
Starring: Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Paulette Dubost
Director: Jean Renoir
Writers: Jean Renoir, Carl Koch
Bechdel test: Pass

Exposition

Reactions

Contemplations

Judgement

Epilogue

Over to you

If you’ve recently seen “The rules of the game” or you’re watching along with my year of movies, please leave a comment below with your thoughts on the movie or note down your opinion somewhere else.

67 movies down. 298 to go.

If you want to get “Rules of the game” from Amazon, here is a link for that. They probably have the movie many other places too. Maybe it’s on a streaming service you subscribe to already?

Tomorrow’s movie is “Grave of the fireflies” (“Hotaru no haka”). Get some more information about this movie and the other movies on my watch list this week on the upcoming movies page. If you’re new to this site and are wondering why I’m watching a movie every day for a year, read more about my experiment.

Until next time; live long and prosper.

Dr. Strangelove

American black and white war comedy from 1964.
Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Peter George, Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern
Bechdel test: Fail

Exposition

Reactions

Contemplations

Judgement

Epilogue

Over to you

If you’ve recently seen “Dr Strangelove” or you’re watching along with my year of movies, please leave a comment below with your thoughts on the movie or note down your opinion somewhere else.

63 movies down. 302 to go.

If you want to get “Dr Strangelove” from Amazon, here is a link for that. They probably have the movie many other places too. Maybe it’s on a streaming service you subscribe to already?

Tomorrow’s movie is “Star wars: Episode IV – A new hope”. Get some more information about this movie and the other movies on my watch list this week on the upcoming movies page. If you’re new to this site and are wondering why I’m watching a movie every day for a year, read more about my experiment.

Until next time; live long and prosper.

Toy story

American black and white psychological horror from 1960.
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Robert Bloch, Joseph Stefano
Bechdel test: Fail

Exposition

Reactions

Contemplations

Judgement

Epilogue

Over to you

If you’ve recently seen “Psycho” or you’re watching along with my year of movies, please leave a comment below with your thoughts on the movie or note down your opinion somewhere else.

35 movies down. 330 to go.

If you want to get “Psycho” from Amazon, here is a link for that. They probably have the movie many other places too. Maybe it’s on a streaming service you subscribe to already?

Tomorrow’s movie is “Once upon a time in America”. Get some more information about this movie and the other movies on my watch list this week on the upcoming movies page. If you’re new to this site and are wondering why I’m watching a movie every day for a year, read more about my experiment.

Until next time; live long and prosper.

Snatch

British crime comedy from 2000.
Starring: Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Toro
Director: Guy Ritchie
Writer: Guy Ritchie
Bechdel test: Fail

Exposition

Turkish, a promoter of unlicensed boxers, gets dragged deeper and deeper into the intrigues of the London underworld.

Reactions

This is kind of an old fashioned heist movie, only it starts with the big caper. It is the story of what comes after all the other big sting movies.

Turkish is the storyteller in the movie, and we follow him and his compadres in the London underworld for a week. There are plenty of misunderstandings, mix-ups, disputes and clashes through the whole week, and both his alleys and foes are crazy and eccentric oddballs, to put it mildly.

And that might be the heart of “Snatch”; the dramatis personae. They are all absurd and they have a variety of traits that defy reason. Put together they make up a circle of associates that are simply inconceivable.  There are blundering amateurs, Russian gangsters, unpredictable pikeys,  bent fight promoters and a general horde of hard men, each of them bearing a nickname as daft as a brush. They make the movie full of surprises and the unexpected. 

And I am happy to report that “Snatch” is a movie with tempo. The story is complicated with heaps of action, and it moves through the scenes with gusto and speed. A lovely change from some of the slower movies I have seen lately.

Contemplations

The acting in the movie is great, and that’s good, cause weak performances could not have pulled off all the strange character traits. The list of actors is impressive, and Jason Statham does a great job in the lead role as one of the few slightly more ordinary people in the movie. I think specially Benicio Del Toro and Brad Pitt succeeds in their performances of unusual roles.

The story is a complicated mess of entanglements and conflicting goals through this gallery of criminal men. Any retelling is superfluous and probably will not do the story justice regardless. Suffice to say; everyone wants the proceeds from the heist and no one is aware of all the other players. It is a delightful set of resulting high jinks.

The audio and visuals in “Snatch” is some of the most creative and appealing I have seen.  We see things through surveillance cameras, there is quick changes between angles in scenes, there is a kind of hurried montage, there is an old-style presentation of the characters (and their wonderful nicknames) and a masterly and strange filming of a fight that lets the viewer feel just how hung over one of the fighters is. And that is just a few of the unusual ways this story is presented.

Judgement

“Snatch” is memorable and funny and I liked it quite a bit. I would not mind watching it again.

Epilogue

I recommend “Snatch” to any adult for a great evening of entertainment.

Over to you

If you’ve recently seen “Snatch” or you’re watching along with my year of movies, please leave a comment below with your thoughts on the movie or note down your opinion somewhere else.

54 movies down. 311 to go.

If you want to get “Snatch” from Amazon, here is a link for that. They probably have the movie many other places too. Maybe it’s on a streaming service you subscribe to already?

Tomorrow’s movie is “Howl’s moving castle” (“Hauru no ugoku shiro”). Get some more information about this movie and the other movies on my watch list this week on the upcoming movies page. If you’re new to this site and are wondering why I’m watching a movie every day for a year, read more about my experiment.

Until next time; live long and prosper.

Waiting for Guffman

American comedy from 1996.
Starring: Christopher Guest, Fred Willard, Catherine O’Hara
Director: Christopher Guest
Writers: Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy
Bechdel test: Pass

Exposition

Corky is the director of Blaine’s amateur theater celebration of the small town’s 150th anniversary. The director and cast gets excited when a Broadway critic agrees to come and see the premiere.

Reactions

“Waiting for Guffman” is another mockumentary from Christopher Guest. I have long loved his “This is Spinal Tap”. (Here is a link to “This is Spinal Tap” on Amazon and on Wikipedia.) And still I had not even heard of “Waiting for Guffman”. Maybe I should pay a little more attention to the filmmakers behind movies I love.

In “Waiting for Guffman” we mostly meet the cast and the director of the celebratory play. We see the auditions, the rehearsals and finally the premiere. Throughout we get small interview comments from the characters. The characters are a big part of what makes this story funny. There is the experienced amateur theater couple, the young woman from the Dairy Queen, the handsome mechanic, the dentist, the actually talented conductor and their the off-off-off Broadway director.

Contemplations

The audio and visuals are a good fit for the mockumentary genre, and makes the movie look like a documentary.

The story is quite simple; rehearse the play and plot twist – a Broadway critic will come and watch the premiere. The acting and the brilliant characters makes the story a little more than that. All the characters are flawed and most of them are slightly delusional, which makes the movie very funny. However, the humor doesn’t strike me as much as in “This is Spinal Tap”. The characters were quite over the top in both movies, but their conflicts weren’t very strong in “Waiting for Guffman”, so less opportunities to set up the crazy people against one another.

Judgement

The movie was funny and I enjoyed watching it, but I much preferred “This is Spinal Tap”.

Epilogue

I wouldn’t recommend “Waiting for Guffman” to a friend, I would rather recommend “This is Spinal Tap”.

Over to you

If you’ve recently seen “Waiting for Guffman” or you’re watching along with my year of movies, please leave a comment below with your thoughts on the movie or note down your opinion somewhere else.

46 movies down. 319 to go.

If you want to get “Waiting for Guffman” from Amazon, here is a link for that. They probably have the movie many other places too. Maybe it’s on a streaming service you subscribe to already?

Tomorrow’s movie is “Nine lives” (“Ni liv”). Get some more information about this movie and the other movies on my watch list this week on the upcoming movies page. If you’re new to this site and are wondering why I’m watching a movie every day for a year, read more about my experiment.

Until next time; live long and prosper.

The Princess bride

American fantasy adventure from 1987.
Starring: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright
Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: William Goldman
Bechdel test: Fail

Exposition

Princess Buttercup and the stable boy Westley are each other’s true love. The kind of true love that comes along maybe once in a century. So what happens when you lose your true love? This is the plot of the fairy tale Grandpa reads to his Grandson when he is sick in bed one day.

Reactions

“The princess bride” is an adventure with fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles and a whole lot of jokes. It is also one of my all time favorite movies, so here comes an account of watching the movie from a quite biased point of view.

The adventure is framed by a Grandpa reading the story to his grandson, but is otherwise told linearly. Princess Buttercup and her heart’s adventures is the core of the tale.

We meet a suave swashbuckler or two, a giant, a prince and many other unforgettable characters, and they all deliver funny and endlessly quotable lines.

This is obviously not the typical story of a romantic comedy, but it never strays far from this genre. There is a clear focus in the story, and it is the “kissy parts” of Princess Buttercups life.

Contemplations

The way the Grandson in the framing story gradually comes to be engaged in and care for the characters, so does the viewer. They are lovable and warm, and in a few cases, clearly evil and cold. For there are bad guys and they are deliciously bad. This is a classical fairy tale.

The only negative I can say about this story is that just as in so many other fairy tales, the Princess is a little passive and the men can more easily make changes in their own and other’s lives.

The sound and visuals is hard for me to comment upon, as I have seen this movie so many times that the music, landscapes, sets, costumes and more seems to belong to the story.

The same is true for the acting, but I do think that the main characters and all the smaller roles filled by famous and renowned actors is very well portrayed. Specially the comedic timing of the actors is great in “The princess bride”.

Judgement

I still love this movie, and enjoyed watching it this time, as well as every other time.

Epilogue

I recommend everyone see “The princess bride”, and often. It can restore good mood on a shitty day, make you laugh, and it can enforce your faith in true love. (And if you are as lucky as me, and have true love in your life, bring your loved one to see it as well.) Anyone not loving this movie, it is simply inconceivable.

Over to you

If you’ve recently seen “The princess bride” or you’re watching along with my year of movies, please leave a comment below with your thoughts on the movie or note down your opinion somewhere else.

43 movies down. 322 to go.

If you want to get “The princess bride” from Amazon, here is a link for that. They probably have the movie many other places too. Maybe it’s on a streaming service you subscribe to already?

Tomorrow’s movie is “A river called Titas” (“Titash ekti nadir naam”). Get some more information about this movie and the other movies on my watch list this week on the upcoming movies page. If you’re new to this site and are wondering why I’m watching a movie every day for a year, read more about my experiment.

Until next time; have fun storming the castle.

Annie Hall

American romantic comedy from 1977.
Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts
Director: Woody Allen
Writers: Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman
Bechdel test: Pass

Exposition

Alvy breaks up with Annie, or maybe it is vice versa, and he then reflects on their relationship and other previous romantic connections.

Reactions

The movie had several unusual and fun ways of telling it’s story. The characters breaking the fourth wall and talking to the camera, people talking to memories and walking into memories,  flashbacks in conversations that seems to be shared by more then one person and subtitles that shows peoples little worries and thoughts.  There were also several others. The movie makers have taken full advantage of the medium they have chosen, which might be something more of them should do. What a movie is and how it should be seen and experienced is quite well established and maybe a bit more creativity would make the movies a little less stale.

Contemplations

The audio and visuals are nothing special and mostly just unobtrusive and forgettable. The acting is strange and bad, but it could have been seen as much better and less alien in the late 70’s.

The story is about a singer that can’t sing and a comedian that isn’t funny, which in it self a funny concept, but sadly it doesn’t work. The movie is neither funny nor romantic. It is just a story of how a self centered drama queen can’t make any changes but expects his partners to change, and so none of his relationships work. I really don’t see the funny and all the jokes were quite stale. The story does not seem to actually say anything about relationships that isn’t quite evident to even a child.

Maybe “Annie Hall” was a good movie in the 70’s, all though I doubt it, but if it was, then it has not withstood the test of time.

Judgement

I don’t understand how “Annie Hall” can be called Woody Allen’s masterpiece. Or is it that his other movies are even worse?

Epilogue

I would only recommend “Annie Hall” to people that are old enough to remember the zeitgeist of 1977 and then could potentially enjoy looking back at that time. The rest of us can do very well without this movie.

Over to you

If you’ve recently seen “Annie Hall” or you’re watching along with my year of movies, please leave a comment below with your thoughts on the movie or note down your opinion somewhere else.

37 movies down. 328 to go.

If you want to get “Annie Hall” from Amazon, here is a link for that. They probably have the movie many other places too. Maybe it’s on a streaming service you subscribe to already?

Tomorrow’s movie is “La vie en rose“. Get some more information about this movie and the other movies on my watch list this week on the upcoming movies page. If you’re new to this site and are wondering why I’m watching a movie every day for a year, read more about my experiment.

Until next time; live long and prosper.

Roman holiday

American black and white romantic comedy from 1953.
Starring: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert
Director: William Wyler
Writers: Ian McLellan Hunter, John Dighton
Bechdel test: Pass

Exposition

Princess Ann is on an European goodwill tour when she decides to escape her aides and the press to have a care free adventure and experience the life of an ordinary woman. When the man she has her adventure with turns out to be a member of the press, the problems pile up.

Reactions

“Introducing Audrey Hepburn” the title sequence to the movie said, so I assume this is her first big role. She does really well as a gracious and spoiled princess with little to no freedom.

I have been most the places in Rome where the characters go sightseeing and I must admit to some jealousy. I have never seen these sights so accessible and void of other tourists. Was it like that in the early 50’s? Or was that staged for the movie?

Contemplations

The music was a bit more dramatic then the scenes called for at times. As if the mood or feeling of a scene was forced upon me, and not conveyed by actions or words. The same way spooky music over a video of someone taking an ordinary walk in the woods will make the clip scary. Illustrated by James Gordon below with the “X-files”-music.

In “Roman holiday” the music doesn’t try to make the mood scary, but dramatic, and yet it just seems forced. Except for a few instances of overly dramatic music, the audio was nice.

The visuals were super. I love Rome, and so I also loved to watch all the scenes set in famous and well known places in the city. The plot uses all the beauty of Rome to create great visuals and the characters are naturally in these places. It does not seem staged, as could easily be the case when a city is shown off in a movie.

The acting was just fine through most the movie, and at times it was quite a bit more then that. Several solid performances. Probably a good debut for Audrey Hepburn.

The story a bit better then the average romantic comedy, but still, it’s hardly likely to make you think or contemplate the nature of humanity.

Judgement

“Roman holiday” was an entertaining movie without much of a message or deeper meaning. I liked watching it, and sometimes it is fine to just be entertained for a little while. The movie makes no pretense of being more then it is, and so makes a nice contribution to it’s genre. I don’t see how it has made a “best movies ever” list though.

Epilogue

I would recommend this movie to anyone looking for some light entertainment on a rainy afternoon.

Over to you

If you’ve recently seen “Roman Holiday” or you’re watching along with my year of movies, please leave a comment below with your thoughts on the movie or note down your opinion somewhere else.

32 movies down. 333 to go.

If you want to get “Roman holiday” from Amazon, here is a link for that. They probably have the movie many other places too. Maybe it’s on a streaming service you subscribe to already?

Tomorrow’s movie is “Witness for the prosecution“. Get some more information about this movie and the other movies on my watch list this week on the upcoming movies page. If you’re new to this site and are wondering why I’m watching a movie every day for a year, read more about my experiment.

Until next time; live long and prosper.

The Sting

American crime comedy from 1973.
Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw
Director: George Roy Hill
Writer: David S. Ward
Bechdel test: Fail

Exposition

Johnny Hooker and Luther Coleman are con artists during the depression and when their mark turns out to work for the mob, the organization gets a cruel revenge on them. Johnny gets help from a legendary con artist called Henry Gondorff to get back at the mob boss.

Reactions

This is a fun and light movie with all the right twists and turns in the plot. The different cons have fun names like Spanish prisoner, the badger, Iraqi dinars and the glim-dropper. (Names not taken from the movie, but in the same style.)

I have seen “The sting” several times before, but it has been some time since I last saw it. I was a little worried that the storytelling would be dated and a bit slow, but it was fast paced enough for the failing attention span of a modern viewer.

Contemplations

The costumes, props and sets are important in this movie. They set a tone or a mood that together with a kind of colorful rendering of the pictures that make up the movie, makes it’s fast pace and anti heroes, fun. Regardless of some violence and people being conned, it becomes more of a distant fairy tale that allows the viewer to disregard negative consequences of the main characters actions.

Also, getting a glimpse into the world and knowledge of confidence artists, is tantalizing and appealed to my sense of adventure.

In the last few movies I have watched, something called establishing shots (I had to google that) has drawn my attention. In this movie, several of those shots showed the camera looking upwards, and followed a minor characters moving into the scene with the major characters. I have not come to a conclusion about what this could mean. More contemplations are needed.

The acting and story in “The sting” is great, and comes together well. All the actors fill their parts well, and I think it is an extra challenge to act a part that is acting in a confidence trick. Or put another way, to act a part that is an actor that is acting, and that being evident even if the role is good at acting, is impressive.

The story is not layered or give pause for much thought, but this kind of heist or sting story really doesn’t have to be. Not when it is well written, and this one is.

Judgement

I like this movie, and it was well worth my time. No complaints.

Epilogue

I recommend this movie to anyone closing in on adulthood. (Maybe 15 or above.) It is fun and enjoyable the whole way through.

Over to you

If you’ve recently seen “The sting” or you’re watching along with my year of movies, please leave a comment below with your thoughts on the movie or note down your opinion somewhere else.

26 movies down. 339 to go.

If you want to get “The sting” from Amazon, here is a link for that. They probably have the movie many other places too. Maybe it’s on a streaming service you subscribe to already?

Tomorrow’s movie is “The wizard of Oz“. Get some more information about this movie and the other movies on my watch list this week on the upcoming movies page. If you’re new to this site and are wondering why I’m watching a movie every day for a year, read more about my experiment.

Until next time; live long and prosper.