au hasard balthazar (1966)

"au hasard balthazar" is my first robert bresson. a filmmaker known for the quality of his pictures over the quantity of them (only 14 films were made over a period of 40 years or so) bresson has in the past slipped under my radar in the past due to the conflicting nature of his work and the french new wave. as im going to be exploring his work in more detail over the next 12 months (due to my MA's reading list) i decided it was about time i dipped my toe into the water, picking up a selection of his work over the whole period of his career.

the concept alone of the tale of a donkey who is passed from owner to owner, some kind, some mean, draws comparisons with the life of christ, with the story being a strong analogy for that of his life, death and resurection. jean-luc godard's famous claim that au hasard balthazar is "the world in an hour and a half", certainly ring true, although im not sure that he would be as supportive of the religious overtones (a theory proven true later on in bresson's life, when he confirmed the analogy as being his intention).

the film is beautifully shot, in bresson's trademark workmanlike style. there is very little camerawork in the sweeping sense, in fact there is very little movement at all, but this is appropriate for the tale at hand. as is the score, which borrows from schubert.

the wizard of oz (1939)

as per the request of my reading list, a fresh viewing of "the wizard of oz" proved a necessity this christmas. having not seen the film for at least ten years i had forgotten just how vivid and downright great a film it is. as a fan of the work of murnau and lang i was amazed to realise that ''the wizard of oz'' came just 12 years after lang's "metropolis" and murnau's "sunrise", which is surprising considering the technical progression between the films. according to one of the many documentaries on the dvd, "the wizard of oz'' is the most seen film in history. madness.

traffic (2000)

steven soderbergh's "traffic" is possibly the last of a kind. its one of the final films that focussed on the US government's "war on drugs" prior to the events of the ninth of september 2001, whereby terrorism officially became the states' first port of call when it came to protecting its citizens. a concept explored deeply in television show "the wire", the idea that the the national drug problem hasnt been much of a priority since the towers came down rings true in hollywood at least, where sprawling epics based on the subject are now fairly uncommon. the likes of the abysmal "crash" (the haggis deadweight, not cronenberg's masterpiece) now take its place, pushing the emphasis on human nature as opposed to high crime. which is a shame, as "traffic" is pretty much the best thing both the director and cast of the film have ever done.

the strongest section of the film takes place in mexico, at the source of both the drugs that move the story along as well as the bookends for the film. benecio del toro leads the mexico sections, draped in drawn out yellows, part of the concept that dictates each section of the film is exhibited in a different colour (with michael douglas' scenes as the government minister shot in cold blue hues), wherein the gritty reality of the drugs trade is revealed, through a combination of torture, corruption and political clarity. catherine zeta jones leads the california sections of the film, as the wife of a local businessman who is found to be a key player in the importation of drugs, who's own downward spiral correlates with the narrative flow. and while im not generally a fan, michael douglas is genuinely great in the aforementioned role, as the government representitive on drugs, who's own daughter is a drug user herself. coincidence or what? the supporting cast, filled by class acts such as don cheadle and luis guzman are great, and while there's many a famous face in the supporting cast its never particularly distracting.

"traffic" has aged amazingly well, much in the same vain as the political conspiracy films of the seventies such as "all the presidents men", in the respect that they both represent an area of society widely ignored.

australia (2008)

baz luhrmann's ode to his homeland proved an apt post-christmas viewing. not expecting to enjoy it at all i was pleasently surprised by the final piece. the analogy towards "the wizard of oz", while lazy, was actually fairly satisfying, and while its not something i can see myself revisiting any time soon it provided an entertaining 3 hours on a lazy afternoon.

the passenger (1975)

jack nicholson's finest performance, "the passenger" is without doubt one of the greatest films ever made. in turn i would consider the piece to be michalangelo antonioni's finest work too.

nicholson plays journalist david locke, a man fed up of his life and situation. when the oppurtunity arises, he uses it to fake his own death and take on the identity of another man. when the man in question turns out to be an arms runner, locke's life falls into chaos, culminating in the famous ten minute tracking shot that brings with it the films climax.

the limey (1999)

terrence stamp plays the limey of the title in steven soderbergh's low key post-modern homage to the british popular culture of the 1960's and the revenge genre. watching this so soon after godard's french new wave piece "pierrot le fou" opened my eyes to the great influence the movement clearly had on this film. the style and tone are very similiar, structure wise especially (though the comparisons to earlier godard work may be fairer).

the most notable feature of "the limey" is its use of editing. the unique way in which the flashbacks and flashforwards compliment and dictate the story is very interesting, and manages to portray a hidden segment of the characterisation that would otherwise be hidden, or even missing.

pierrot le fou (1965)

for me, jean-luc godard's "pierrot le fou" not only represents the best example of the french new wave (despite some purists attaining that its not actually an example of the nouvelle vague at all...) but is, in my opinion the greatest film ever made.

''pierrot le fou'' is a film about regret, even down to the final scene. the story of an ad-man who one day, out of work and disillusioned with the route his life has taken decides to flee with his children's babysitter, a girl with whom he has a past. in turn it is discovered that the girl, marianne, has a couple of unresolved issues revolving around algerian gangsters, and so begins a journey to the south of france. the synopsis just outlined does very little to describe the film, as plot is, in a similiar manner to that of ''a bout de souffle'', almost irrelevent. the film is more concerned with the emotions of the semi-eponymous character (who actually goes by the name of ferdinand, yet marianne insists on calling him 'pierrot'), and his journey into decay, as outlined fairly explicitly in the early party conversation scene with samuel fuller.

half way through the picture, marianne tells a story concerning a man that decided to escape death (as in "death" the being. ala bengt ekerot in ''the seventh seal", as opposed to the actual act) by leaving paris and then heading to the south of france, only to hit a truck after driving all night. this analogy rings true for ferdinand, our hero, and could be seen as a nod to the audience, whom by this point in the movement, would have grown accustomed to the distinctive wit and wryness of the sort of humour expressed.

its worth pointing out just how important anna karina, and indeed her relationship with godard was on the final state of the film. in the years since its release, ''pierrot le fou'' has been regarded as one of the all time great examples of a piece of work created through heartbreak. anna karina and jean-luc godard's marriage fell apart during work on "pierrot", with the couple divorced by the time the camera's rolled. this personal situation is evident on the screen, with "pierrot" actually turning into a rather more biographical piece of work than im sure godard originally envisioned. the treatment of marianne as a character, and the way in which she treats ferdinand steadily declines, commenting perhaps on the relationship between godard and karina. and while it may seem like rather a light hearted role when all told, try comparing the diet-femme fetale of marianne with korina's odile in ''bande a part", to see how such similiar characters are handled differently. im under no illusion that the break up of his marriage and the nature of his work following "pierrot" are no doubt linked, i would actually be inclined to say that such a dramatic change in style and tone has never been seen in the arts before or since.

jean-paul belmondo, godard's often used performer returns in "pierrot le fou", in a role that i feel bookends incredibly well with belmondo's work in "a bout de souffle", and in turn, performances that bookend the entire nouvelle vague movement. one could almost view pierrot le fou's 'ferdinand' as the grown up michel poiccard, a loose end that has grown up to be all that he despises.

godard's political tongue changes with "pierrot le fou", and signs of the work that was to follow are becoming. gone are the loving references to american popular culture, as seen in ''a bout de souffle'' with belmondo's 'michel' and his aspirations for bogard, and the almost status symbol-like nature of the coca cola bottles in "bande a part", and in are the sly (and at times blatant) swipes at american culture, be it the satirical verse of the party scene, told in taglines from advertisements, or the attack at the texaco petrol station.

and those are just a few of the reasons as to why "pierrot le fou" is the greatest film ever made.

die hard (1988)

tis the night before christmas and all through the house, ''die hard'' is blaring, it wouldnt be the same without.

christmas eve special! the hopeandbullshitlist (at 24/12/2008)

sunrise has finally been overtaken as the top film! im going to be watching a couple of films over the christmas holidays that are bound to threaten the new top film though, including my bona-fide favourite film of all time, so i guess we will have to wait and see just how long it lasts at the top.

1. the element of crime (lars von trier)
2. sunrise (f.w murnau)
3. bottle rocket (wes anderson)
4. the outlaw josey wales (clint eastwood)
5. red desert (michelangelo antonioni)
6. mon oncle antoine (claude jutra)
7. unforgiven (clint eastwood)
8. f for fake (orson welles)
9. the brothers bloom (rian johnson)
10. changeling (clint eastwood)
11. the dark knight (christopher nolan)
12. wall-e (andrew stanton)
13. blow up (michelangelo antonioni)
14. europa (lars von trier)
15. the shop on main street (ján kadár and elmar klos)
16. hellboy - the golden army (guillermo del toro)
17. out of sight (steven soderbergh)
18. days of heaven (terence malick)
19. blindness (fernando meirelles)
20. killer's kiss (stanley kubrick)
21. dirty harry (don siegal)
22. mad detective (johnnie to & wai ka fa)
23. the idiot (akira kurosawa)
24. in bruges (martin mcdonough)
25. play misty for me (clint eastwood)
26. bigger than life (nicholas ray)
27. bronco billy (clint eastwood)
28. the terminator (james cameron)
29. hancock (peter berg)
30. the day the earth stood still (robert wise)
31. iron man (jon favreau)
32. the gauntlet (clint eastwood)
33. breezy (clint eastwood)
34. before the devil knows youre dead (sidney lumet)
35. magnum force (ted post)
36. casino royale (martin campbell)
37. body of lies (ridley scott)
38. solaris (steven soderbergh)
39. indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull (steven spielberg)
40. the puffy chair (duplass brothers)
41. i am legend (francis lawrence)
42. space cowboys (clint eastwood)
43. quantum of solace (marc forster)
44. wanted (timur bekmambetov)
45. the magnificent ambersons (orson welles)
46. speed (jan de bont)
47. coogans bluff (don siegal)
48. the enforcer (james fargo)
49. joe kidd (john sturges)
50. spider-man 3 (sam raimi)
51. dear wendy (thomas vinterberg)
52. goldeneye (martin campbell)
53. night watch (timur bekmambetov)
54. judge dredd (danny cannon)
55. robocop 3 (fred dekker)
56. robocop 2 (irvin kershner)
57. zack and miri make a porno (kevin smith)
58. goldfinger (guy hamilton)
59. you only live twice (lewis gilbert)
60. mad max - beyond thunderdome (george miller & george ogilvie)
61. die another day (lee tamahori)
62. W. (oliver stone)

mon oncle antoine (1971)

claude jutra's 'mon oncle antione' has the honour of being this viewers favourite christmas film of all time. sure its a tad grim; the tale of a young boy confronting death and mortality for the first time couldnt not have been, but the atmosphere of the canadian asbestos mining town and the folk surrounding it create a christmas feeling like no other.

i first saw the film earlier this year, having been sent a copy by mistake (and at no charge!) by an online dvd store. as i wasnt expecting the dvd it took me a while to get around to giving it a viewing, with my immediate post-screening reaction being "i should have left it til christmas'', which desite the derogatory slant the comment may take, its actually a compliment. with the film being set (largely) over the course of one day in the aforementioned town's convenience store, it seemed to be the perfect accompaniment to the lazy atmosphere in my own mind on christmas eve, having winded down after a few hours of last minute work based activity. the fact that the day on which the film is set happens to be christmas eve only serves to compliment this even more.

jutra's film, in which he also stars was recently named the greatest canadian film of all time, and while i may not agree with that entirely (guy maddin occupies too big a space in my heart for such bold claims to ring true) it is a complete masterpiece. after watching the film earlier today, i made the decision that it would be my official christmas film, and will be viewed every christmas eve.

solaris (2002)

steven soderbergh's often frowned upon remake of the tarkovsky classic was given a recent viewing, in light of the upcoming release of "che" next month. while its not the marvel that is the original 1972 film, it is actually rather interesting, at least as an example of soderbergh trying a different genre. over the next week or so im going to watch a few more soderbergh films, in the shape of ''the limey'' (one i havent seen) and ''traffic'' (one i havent seen since its theatrical release), alongside the previous ''out of sight''.

spider-man 3 (2007)

i caught this on tv a few nights back. i was a fan of the film when i saw it theatrically, seeing past the many criticisms thrown at it, but found that on repeat viewings the film suffered terribly, ven more so than the first two films.

out of sight

being my first steven soderbergh experience i didnt know what to expect when i first saw 'out of sight', back during the dawn of dvd back in 1999. i picked the film up at the recommendation of a colleague at the time, he being the sole other dvd player owner that i knew back then. its difficult to explain the sheer exhileration that came with each and every dvd that i picked up back then, an impossible thing to explain now that the format is the most successful home entertainment platform of all time. alas, i was dubious of seeing 'out of sight' at first, the credentials of its cast being enough to cast doubt (clooney was fresh off of 'batman and robin' at the time, while jennifer lopez was, well, jennifer lopez) over the apparent quality of the picture. i was pleased to find that not only was i wrong to make such assumptions, but i was ridiculously wrong.

the shifting of time feels innovative, despite it being de-rigeur at the time of production to rely on such gimmicks, and the film has a none-too-shaky -cam handheld style that compliments proceedings well. and wouldnt you know it, clooney and lopez are both great in their roles. its since become apparent that clooney wasnt the clown that the misfire that was 'batman and robin' suggested, and miss lopez has seemingly all but disappeared, leaving not very much to be aspired.

judge dredd (1995)

a moment of madness, partly inspired by the news that a new version has recently been greenlit, ended with me taking a look at the the sylvester stallone-led "judge dredd". needless to say it wasnt as bad as expected, nor as bad as i remember. the concept of a helmetless dredd will never really work with me, yet the rest of the visuals work a treat. the blade runner-esque world of mega city-1 is really strongly realised, and stallone as the eponymous dredd is actually borderline perfect casting (were it not for the ego and the mask removal).

robocop 2 (1990)

the lowest point in the robocop movie trilogy (the tv series being off of the radar when it comes to levels of poor), has the eponymous hero dealing with a super addicitive futuristic drug and the ensuing cult that is attached to it. the film is harmless enough, yet it lacks the subtle sophistication of the first film.

the element of crime (1984)

lars von trier's directorial debut tells the story of a detective provoked to return to his old beat in order to solve an old case. the film has a very unique look about it, in that it is largely filtered with a sepia tone, albeit with vivid occasional splashes of blue. british actor michael elphick leads the cast as the aforementioned detective, following the trail of a serial killer using a technique outlined in a book, the element of crime of the title.

following 'europa' i was very much looking forward to checking out some similiar period von trier, and 'the element of crime' didnt disappoint, in fact i found it to be much better than 'europa'. the concept and the style worked perfectly together, both really complimenting each other, making a film that is not just style over substance, but incredibly powerful at the same time. the world of the film reminded of the work of gilliam and early jeunet, creating, similiarly to 'europa' a very old fashioned future, except that the world of 'europa' was a very futuristic past.

as to whether the film will hold up to repeated viewings im not sure, but the initial experience alone was incredibly inspiring, leading to what i would consider one of the best screenings i have seen in a long time.

the shop on main street (1965)

the next port of call in my cinematic odyssey is a little known film movement referred to as 'the black wave', a group of films that came out of yugoslavia in the 1960's. as very few titles are available i decided to spread my wings a bit and check out other balkan-based cinema in advance of the black wave, mainly to give myself a contextual reference point, but also out of a genuine interest in seeking out an area of film previously ignored by myself. given that it won the best foreign picture academy award in 1965 i figured that czechoslovakian film 'the shop on main street' would be as good a starting point as any to take a look at this area of film.

having very few preconceptions about the cinema of czechoslovakian cinema of the 1960's i found myelf entering the screening of 'the shop on main street' without knowing what to expect. unlike the cinema of the rest of europe at the time, 'the shop on main street' isnt particularly experimental in terms of visuals or style, although the subject matter is rather political.

robocop 3 (1993)

at this time of year i like to binge on rubbish films for some reason. or guilty pleasures as it were.

robocop is an unfairly maligned classic in some circles. the original 1987 film is genuinely great, with a deeper level of satire than most remember/give it credit for. thats not to say that the sequels benefit from the same level of quality in layering.

robocop 3 conceptually actually works really well, its just a shame about the execution. the story itself, concerning a corporation buying a city, draws semi-clever comparisons to many a politic strand, be it capitalism, globalisation or the holocaust, its just a shame that the b-movie production values and lesser performances let the film down.

i look forward to darren aronofsky's take on the subject matter.

the hopeandbullshitlist (at 16/12/2008)

1. sunrise (f.w murnau)
2. bottle rocket (wes anderson)
3. the outlaw josey wales (clint eastwood)
4.red desert (michelangelo antonioni)
5. unforgiven (clint eastwood)
6. f for fake (orson welles)
7. the brothers bloom (rian johnson)
8. changeling (clint eastwood)
9. the dark knight (christopher nolan)
10. wall-e (andrew stanton)
11. blow up (michelangelo antonioni)
12. europa (lars von trier)
13. hellboy - the golden army (guillermo del toro)
14. days of heaven (terence malick)
15. blindness (fernando meirelles)
16. killer's kiss (stanley kubrick)
17. dirty harry (don siegal)
18. mad detective (johnnie to & wai ka fa)
19. the idiot (akira kurosawa)
20. in bruges (martin mcdonough)
21. play misty for me (clint eastwood)
22. bigger than life (nicholas ray)
23. bronco billy (clint eastwood)
24. the terminator (james cameron)
25. hancock (peter berg)
26. the day the earth stood still (robert wise)
27. iron man (jon favreau)
28. the gauntlet (clint eastwood)
29. breezy (clint eastwood)
30. before the devil knows youre dead (sidney lumet)
31. magnum force (ted post)
32. casino royale (martin campbell)
33. body of lies (ridley scott)
34. indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull (steven spielberg)
35. the puffy chair (duplass brothers)
36. i am legend (francis lawrence)
37. space cowboys (clint eastwood)
38. quantum of solace (marc forster)
39. wanted (timur bekmambetov)
40. the magnificent ambersons (orson welles)
41. speed (jan de bont)
42. coogans bluff (don siegal)
43. the enforcer (james fargo)
44. joe kidd (john sturges)
45. dear wendy (thomas vinterberg)
46. goldeneye (martin campbell)
47. night watch (timur bekmambetov)
48. zack and miri make a porno (kevin smith)
49. goldfinger (guy hamilton)
50. you only live twice (lewis gilbert)
51. mad max - beyond thunderdome (george miller & george ogilvie)
52. die another day (lee tamahori)
53. W. (oliver stone)

hellboy - the golden army (2008)

the surprise hit of the summer in my view, hellboy- the golden army took a second viewing in this weekend. the film was seen originally just a few weeks after the dark knight, an altogether darker affair, and was just the thing needed in comparison. the wit of the film is perhaps the most appealing feature of the film, and that includes the stunning visuals. the scene involving a rendition of a barry manilow song features more heart than most blockbusters could ever hope for, and was rightly voted the top musical scene in a film by saturdays guardian newspaper.

on to the visuals of the film; guillermo del toro is known for a particular brand of fairy tale-infused fantasy-inspired worlds and creatures, and with hellboy he seems most at home. the troll market for instance, is the sort of puppet laden environment not seen since the early eighties, when such craftwork was overtaken by computer generated imagery. its a sight to behold and shows why del toro has since been appointed the post of overseeing the hobbit.

ron perlman shines in the title role, with great support from all.

while blockbusters are not my usual sort of thing, the combination of the dark knight, wall-e and this means that 2008 has been a great year for the more commercial fare that doesnt usually appeal.

speed (1994)

having never seen this apparent seminal mid nineties action film before, i decided to pick it up on a (cheap) whim on friday afternoon. obviously it was hardly bergman, but as far is blockbuster experiences go it was at the very least an interesting few hours. the high concept plot hasnt aged particularly badly and it was nice to see a non-eastern-stereotyical terrorist as the antagonist for a change in these post 9/11 days.

the terminator (1984)

in light of the recent hype over next years terminator : salvation i decided to take in a light night re-viewing of the first terminator film. as a boy it was the OTT special effects of terminator 2 that excited me the most, overshadowing the fairly basic premise of the first film, but as iv gotten older the first one is the only one that i can bear (lets not mention the third one). i love the gritty nature of the flashbacks, the lower budget revealing a more basic setting that doesnt seem exagerated and is actually semi-believable. as far as eighties action films go, this is one of the stronger ones, and one that actually still has legs today, almost 25 years on from its original release.

the dark knight (2008)

the average person's film of the year, the dark knight proved to be a genuine treat, despite what the online naysayers may claim. it was with an air of apprehensiveness that i approached it a second time, hoping that i wasnt just taken in by the hype upon release. im happy to reveal that not only did it hold up on a second viewing, but i actually enjoyed it more this time, removed of the hype and expectation.

comparisons to the wire must be made. the dark knight feels like a big screen outing of david simon's epic masterpiece in places, and im surprised more hasnt been made of this. sure the situation may be severely exagerated when put next to the wire, but the concept of a city on the edge, of a society out of control with hope being an unobtainable dream draws many parallels, as does the intricate nature of how the plot is held together.

for me it is gary oldman that is the key performer in the film, and the one who's performance i enjoyed the most. his is the most relatable arc throughout the film, and the one that is easiest to literally relate to. christian bale is great as batman, further cementing his place as the definitive person for the role. aaron eckhart as district attorney really struck me upon initial viewing, but upon this screening didnt have the same impact. thats not to say that hes not good in the role, hes great, it just didnt strike me in the same way. maggi gylenhaal, morgan freeman and michael caine provide ample support, although caine is seemingly the biggest casualty of such a huge ensemble, as his role seemed to have shrunk when compared to the size of his performance in 'batman begins'.

the concept of heath ledger as the joker, initially a bitching-point for most geeks with internet connection, is possibly the most successful aspect of the dark knight, at least for the masses. removed of the hype and expectation i was able to appreciate the role and performance much more, noticing his subtle nuances and the ticks and mannerisms that really make the character. while genuinely terrifying a character, he is also brilliantly comical too, highlighted in the hospital scene, where the joker vacates the future crime scene dressed as a nurse. while not a fan of the "ledger deserves an oscar" campaign i fully appreciate the performance and am pleased to see it, alongside his role in brokeback mountain, as a fitting legacy for the actor.

red desert (1964)

following my previous foray into the world of michelangelo antonioni with the wonderful blow-up, i decided to follow it up with the newly released (on dvd) 'red desert', which incidently was antonioni's first colour film. i havent yet seen any of his black and white work, a situation hopefully soon rectified, so cant really comment on the difference between the colour and the black and white films, but i would like to point out just how beautiful the film looks. his use of colour has many connotations, with the use of red being symbolic of our protaganists state of mind amongst other things. the bold backgrounds, especially the earlier scenes set within the compound of industry gives the feeling of an otherworldy nature, which leads to my next point -

the film is almost like a science fiction piece. the environment and use of sound reminiscent of the worlds later created in films such as stanley kubrick's "a clockwork orange" and andre tarkovsky's "stalker''. ''red desert'' has a very unique electronic score, that adds to the mechanical and otherworldy feel of the picture, and the use of industrial change as a metaphor is similiar to those of those seen in later science fiction work.

i enjoyed red desert wholeheartedly, and look forward to my next antonioni, the passenger (1975).

the puffy chair (2005)

my first experience with mumblecore, watched late at night on film4. it was a fun little film, alas the feeling of a group of people trying too hard was a little too prevailent.

i am legend (2007)

will smith's post-apocalyptic tale of the last man on earth occupies a deserved place on this viewers list of guilty pleasures. i watched it with the alternate ending, which is very different to that of the original and more than anything suggests that the filmmakers didnt really know which direction they wanted to take the film in, as is the nature of the difference between the two different endings. nevertheless the concept of the being the last man on earth will never get old.

the hopeandbullshitlist (at 08/12/2008)

sunrise remains at the top, but there are three new entries in the top ten. theres some pretty high profile viewings this week, so im expecting lots of movement in the list, with potentially a new number 1 within the next few days.....


1. sunrise (f.w murnau)
2. bottle rocket (wes anderson)
3. the outlaw josey wales (clint eastwood)
4. unforgiven (clint eastwood)
5. f for fake (orson welles)
6. the brothers bloom (rian johnson)
7. changeling (clint eastwood)
8. wall-e (andrew stanton)
9. blow up (michelangelo antonioni)
10. europa (lars von trier)
11. days of heaven (terence malick)
12. blindness (fernando meirelles)
13. killer's kiss (stanley kubrick)
14. dirty harry (don siegal)
15. mad detective (johnnie to & wai ka fa)
16. the idiot (akira kurosawa)
17. in bruges (martin mcdonough)
18. play misty for me (clint eastwood)
19. bigger than life (nicholas ray)
20. bronco billy (clint eastwood)
21. hancock (peter berg)
22. the day the earth stood still (robert wise)
23. iron man (jon favreau)
24. the gauntlet (clint eastwood)
25. breezy (clint eastwood)
26. before the devil knows youre dead (sidney lumet)
27. magnum force (ted post)
28. casino royale (martin campbell)
29. body of lies (ridley scott)
30. indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull (steven spielberg)
31. space cowboys (clint eastwood)
32. quantum of solace (marc forster)
33. wanted (timur bekmambetov)
34. the magnificent ambersons (orson welles)
35. coogans bluff (don siegal)
36. the enforcer (james fargo)
37. joe kidd (john sturges)
38. dear wendy (thomas vinterberg)
39. goldeneye (martin campbell)
40. night watch (timur bekmambetov)
41. zack and miri make a porno (kevin smith)
42. goldfinger (guy hamilton)
43. you only live twice (lewis gilbert)
44. mad max - beyond thunderdome (george miller & george ogilvie)
45. die another day (lee tamahori)
46. W. (oliver stone)

the day the earth stood still (1951)

as robert wise's seminal science fiction allegory see's a largely unneccessary remake hit cinemas this week, so with that in mind i decided to take in a timely re-viewing of the original.

the most immediately apparent aspect of ''the day the earth stood still'' is just how subtle and philosophical the film is, especially in this day and age of spectacle and blockbusting. as the basis for a remake i can actually almost understand why fox decided to bother. not that the original concept lends itself to the notion of an apocalyptic thriller but im trying to cut them some slack!

hancock (2008)

a film very much made up of two halves, hancock was one of the more enjoyable films of the summer for this viewer. seeing it again on dvd, in a brand new 15-rated extended cut no less, benefitted the narrative flow of the film greatly. while the story originally suffered from a mid-story twist that seperated the story way too much, and for which the film was greatly attacked critically, the extra few minutes allowed with the extended cut actually help the film greatly. gone is the feeling of a mid-length change of pace, and in comes a feeling of a more natural flow.

dear wendy (2005)

a screening inspired by a bargain discovery in hmv the day after viewing europa.

in terms of the dogme movement, i much prefered thomas vinterberg's ''festen'' (1998) over any of the work of lars von trier, so the combination of perhaps the two most famous dutch filmmakers of the 1990's on ''dear wendy'' sounded like a great idea on paper, and while its an interesting enough film the prevailing message seemed lost and confused by the end of the picture.

basically a comment on gun control and teenage sensibilities (especially in the united states) the film tells the story of a group of misfits living in a small mining town. through the confidence gained from carrying guns the group's confused politics (a gun carrying pacifist) eventually spiral out of control leadig to a confused border-tragic climax.

while not a poor picture per-se, i found ''dear wendy'' to be overwhelming and, yes, the word of the day; confused.

europa (1991)

having never had a great deal of luck with lars von trier i approached europa with some trepidition. granted, my previous endeveours within his work all circled around that of the dogme period, and this looked very different. europa centres around the story of a young american man who heads to germany after the second world war in order to work with his uncle as a ''sleeping car conductor''.

the look of the film is what appeals most. using lots of back projection von trier creates a world that is reminescent of the type of film one would expect from the period of the films setting, but is almost cutting edge in its satirical note. as a fan of canadian avant-garde filmmaker guy maddin i noted many similiarities between europa and his work, be it in the use of film type and the style of the dialogue. it is said in the liner notes for criterion's new release that europa inhabits a setting that is an "oddly futuristic past", a description that i would wholeheartedly agree with.

one final note; max von sydow's iconic narration is outstanding. its a key ingredient with regards to clarifying the intended state of mind necessary with regards to viewing the film in the best way possible.

before the devil knows youre dead (2007)

reminiscent of spike lee's "the inside man'', sidney lumet's final film revolves around the tale of two brothers and a heist gone awry. philip seymour hoffman, ethan hawke and albert finney all give solid performances, with the off kilter strucure lending hugely to the slight plot. "before the devil knows youre dead" makes a good companion piece to lumet's earlier "dog day afternoon".