Alfred Hitchcock after winning an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award.
I (Kat) came across a GIF today on how Charlie Chaplin achieved his incredible roller skating stunt/effect in the film Modern Times. I remember watching this film and thinking “Holy shit! How did he do that?” Well, now we finally have the answer!
Be sure to check out our review of the movie; if you haven’t watched it before, I definitely recommend it.
It’s been WAY too long since we posted any new reviews (I almost couldn’t remember the password for the blog) and way, WAY too long since I (Kat) watched a movie from the list. I pledge, here and now, on the internet, that by January 1, 2013 I will have watched AT LEAST 7 more films.
If by some miracle you managed to stick with us even through this 10 month lull, bless your heart, and stay tuned!
As a side note (a BIG side note), fearless flogger JEN finished ALL THE FILMS ON THE LIST! Mad kudos to her for that. I know I am proud!
UPDATE: I can’t lie to you. I failed. Miserably. I’ve only watched two films since I posted this. I’m sorry I let you down. This project has taken us longer than I think we ever imagined it would. It’s clearly a slow process that isn’t getting any faster.
Completed on 15 September, 2011.
High Noon
“A marshall, personally compelled to face a returning deadly enemy, finds that his own town refuses to help him.” – IMDb
Dan: I really enjoy films that run in real time and while the premise of a western didn’t draw me in too much the fact that the film is one long character study really struck me. Poor guy. Can’t believe that the town just don’t help.
Rating: 6.5
Jen: I was looking forward to another western as so far we have had one good and one bad so High Noon had a chance to tip the scales one way or the other. But it was just average as not much seemed to happen till the end.
Rating: 6.6
Kat: Like any other western there is a lot of waiting around for something to happen. In this film the climactic scene didn’t start until 10 minutes before the end of the film! It was certainly the most interesting of the old westerns we’ve watched, with the clearest, most fast-moving plot (despite the whole film being “waiting”). I felt bad for the Marshall, though, being let down by everyone he knows. Regardless, it didn’t thrill me.
Rating: 7.0
Ashley: Probably the best western on the list, I think it’s the real time format that makes it so good. I’m a sucker for realtime and it really brought the storyline through quickly and succinctly, something which most westerns fail to do. Also, I don’t know if you’ve picked up on this yet but I have a bit of a soft spot for Grace Kelly, and my word; she doesn’t disappoint in this.
Rating: 7.9
Average Rating: 7
Completed previously.
The Sixth Sense
“A boy who communicates with spirits that don’t know they’re dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.” – IMDb
Dan: Now, I was going to give this film a lot lower than I did because I hadn’t watched it in awhile and I knew the twist, etc. But having watched it again, I really enjoyed it. Even knowing what happens at the end means throughout the film you are looking for hints and clues. Classic.
Rating: 7.0
Jen: It gets such a low score as I haven’t and won’t watch it again, even after learning the twist, to enjoy going ‘oh yeeeaah. I get it now.’ Gripping first few minutes and great twist. It’s a pity about the rest.
Rating: 3.8
Kat: I saw this one in theatres when it first came out, which is surprising for me because I am very terrified of scary movies. And yes, this counts as a scary movie. I think I was trying to impress a boy. I remember walking out thinking “That was good!” It definitely has its place in pop culture history.
Rating: 7.1
Ashley: I’ve seen this film twice, I managed to forget the twist and managed to enjoy it equally! I don’t know if I could enjoy it just as much a third time, maybe I’ll leave it twenty years and come back to it? The film would have scored higher if it was more rewatchable.
Rating: 8.1
Average Rating: 6.5
Completely previously
Donnie Darko
“A troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes, after narrowly escaping a bizarre accident.” – IMDb
Dan: One of those cult films that splits audiences but I love it. Takes a few watches and some reading into to get the best out of the story but when you slowly realise what’s happening throughout each watch becomes better and better.
Rating: 8.8
Jen: As soon as I mention it to anyone the response is always ‘I love that film!’ And I never understood. It’s great that it immediately made me go and read as much about it on the internet as I could and Donnie was fascinating. Yeah, thinking it about it now, I’m starting to understand the reaction. I love that film.
Rating: 7.8
Kat: After the first time I watched this I said to my friend, *MASSIVE SPOILER SO I WON’T WRITE IT* and he told me that I understood about the film what takes most people several watches to understand. It’s definitely dark and has depressing overtones. If you’re in university/college you should watch it as it’s directed at your age group. If you’re older, I’d say give it a pass.
Rating: 6.6
Ashley: Everytime I watch this film I’m convinced I’m going to love it, but I don’t. Don’t get me wrong, I do like it – but I feel like I should love it more. Donnie is captiviating, the story pulls me in and the entire production is excellent. Give it a go and see what you think.
Rating: 6.5
Average Rating: 7.42
Completed on 30 August, 2011.
Cool Hand Luke
“A man refuses to conform to life in a rural prison.” – IMDb
Dan: Boring. Nothing really inventive or strong in terms of plot. Just a guy being a dick in prison and thinking he is better than everyone. I actually enjoyed what happened in the end which is probably the opposite of what everyone else felt.
Rating: 4.5
Jen: Prison drama is certainly a genre that appeals to me on this list and Cool Hand Luke does not let me down. It is the everyday stuff that I actually find interesting, as is 20 minutes of watching someone eat eggs. Not so fond of the ending though but definitely one to recommend.
Rating: 8.3
Kat: He’s good looking and it’s Paul Newman so I feel like I’m supposed to be sympathetic with Luke. But I’m not. His life didn’t seem that bad in prison. There were nice guys around, he got to work outside, and hey, unlimited eggs. I wasn’t crazy about this film; it wasn’t as good as The Great Escape, which I was kind of expecting. So, maybe that’s my fault. The best part was hearing the origins of the line, “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.”
Rating: 5.6
Ashley: Excellent film. I seem to have a thing for films about prisons and this one didn’t fail to get me off. There’s some great comedy moments in there and good development of character. I hated the ending though, such a downer.
Rating: 8.9
Average Rating: 6.83
Well, it’s been just over a year and we’ve finally made it to the half way mark!
A lot has changed since August 2010 when we started this challenge. Kat is back in Canada, Dan is back in his hometown, Ashley’s got a real time grown up job and Jen, well, Jen’s got herself a job, too!
We want to thank you all for reading along with us as we watch these films. Has anyone been watching along? Shoot us a comment if you have been doing the list yourself, or if you want to be a guest reviewer for any of the upcoming films!
Hopefully, we can fall back into some sort of rhythm so it doesn’t take us another whole year to finish this list! Stick with us as we round the second leg of the movie-watching challenge!
Love, the Floggers! x
Completed on 28 August, 2011.
Strangers on a Train
“A psychotic socialite confronts a pro tennis star with a theory on how two complete strangers can get away with murder…a theory that he plans to implement.” – IMDb
Dan: I like, I like. Really strong story and a lot of tension placed rather well. Probably the most tension filled tennis match I’ve ever watched. Plus I will never ride a carousel again thanks to the ending.
Rating: 8.0
Jen: So there is a great Hitchcock film. I was beginning to wonder. Exciting and tense with one of the best bad guys yet: he managed to make even watching tennis a creepy affair. We were trying to guess what was going to happen all the way through and I don’t think we got anything right.
Rating: 8.0
Kat: This film has a lot of “bests” for me. Best first line ever: “I certainly do admire people who do things.” Best camera angles with my favourite being the through-the-glasses-lens shot. Best old carnie man hero character (combined with cops who don’t give a damn about his personal welfare). And the best high-speed carousel brawl of all time. ALL TIME! The carousel scene is going to go down in Top250Films history as one of my favourite scenes ever! If you haven’t seen it already, you should watch this film just to have all these precious gems locked into your memory bank.
Rating: 7.8
Ashley: This was an enjoyable beast of a film. I particularly liked the build up and tension. Each and every minute built up up to the fantastic ending which is also very exciting!
Rating: 8.6
Average Rating: 8.1
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