Blind Spot Series 2013

When you're a cinephile one of the worst experiences you face is being in the company of fellow cineasts and letting it slip that you've never seen a certain classic film and then feel your integrity fall around you as they all point and jeer. Of course, they've probably never seen Breathless or The Breakfast Club, although they'll never admit it. Everyone has gaps on their film cannon, which is why James McNally of Toronto Screen Shots created the Blind Spot Series in 2012. How it works is that film bloggers pick 12 "essential" films that they haven't seen but feel they must and then post a review after they've seen it.

Below are the twelve movies I've picked that I aim to see before January 1st 2014. Unlike most, I'm not going to tackle these in any particular order or work to a schedule (I believe most are posting the last Tuesday of every month), I'm just going to watch and review as and when I see them.

Projects like this are always more fun when you're not working alone, so feel motivated to make your own list and try and see them all before 2013 is out. Even if you don't blog it's a great way of ticking some titles off the list and watching some great films in the process. I'd love to know what's on your list so make sure to comment below.

Without any further ado, my guilt list:


1. Dog Day Afternoon. (1975)

Often grouped in with The Godfather and The French Connection when people talk of the great crime movies of the '70s. Directed by the late Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino at the peak of his career.

2. A Streetcar Named Desire. (1951)

After Clark Gable made the vest highly unfashionable in 1934 after badmouthing it in It Happened One Night, it was Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire that made it cool again in 1951. 

3. Ivan's Childhood. (1962)

A major confession here, I've seen very little of Tarkovskiy's work and the fact he only made 11 films is little consolation. Having only seen Solaris I had many films to chose from; Stalker, Andrei Rublev, The Sacrifice... but in the end I decided on 1962's Ivan's Childhood.

4. The Apartment. (1960)

I've not meet anyone yet who's seen Billy Wilder's classic comedy, starring Jack Lemmon, and feels anything other than love and admiration for it. I hope I feel the same way when I eventually get around to seeing it in 2013.

5. Chungking Express. (1994)

Director Wong Kar Wai is widely considered one of the contemporary giants and poster boy for the new wave of South Korean cinema. I for one consider his turn of the century masterpiece, In The Mood For Love, to be one the greatest films of recent years.

6. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. (1991)

A feature length documentary chronicling the traumatic principle photography of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. The documentary premiered at the '91 Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim, some critics and film-goers even claim it to be a superior film to Apocalypse Now itself.

7. Life Is Beautiful. (1997)

Let me be honest, I've had plenty of opportunities to see this, I've physically held it in my hands in HMV many a time, but always put it back because nothing about it appeals to me. But in 2013 I'm finally going to bite the bullet and see if I can figure out for myself what it is everyone else loves about this film.

8. Stray Dog. (1949)

I've seen plenty of Kurosawa's Samurai films (although Ran and Hidden Fortress could have made this list) but I haven't seem any of his crime films, which is why I've added his film Stray Dog, starting Toshirô Mifune, to the list. 

9. Hiroshima, mon amour. (1959)

French director Alain Resnais turned 90 this year and he's still going strong making movies. But still the film he's most famous for is his Franco-Japanese love affair, Hiroshima, mon amour.

10. Whiskey Galore! (1949)

In trying to make sure I had a varied list of films, I almost forgot to include a gem from my native isles. The Ealing-comedy, Whiskey Galore! will be representing Great Britain.

Completed on 05/02/2013

11. Mulholland Drive. (2001)

I've not had a great relationship with David Lynch in the past, I consider Blue Velvet a work of art and I really like The Elephant Man, but I've found everything else (yes, even Eraserhead) cold and unengaging. But I'm more than willing to give Mulholland Drive a fair shot.

12. The Last Picture Show. (1971)

Film critic turned film maker Peter Bogdanovich's small masterpiece that flung Jeff Bridges out of obscurity, The Last Picture Show, is generally considered an American classic. It was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay.  

  

By The Light of the Sun

By The Light of the Sun 

Director: Andy Harrison

Written By: Andy Harrison and Lewis Simpson 

Starring: Nigel Moran, Lewis Simpson, Ryan Murphy 

Country: UK

Year: 2012

 By The Light of the Sun is the début feature from young film-maker Andy Harrison, aged just seventeen. Harrison co-wrote the screenplay with friend and actor, Lewis Simpson.     

A band of idiosyncratic characters lead this surprisingly funny film that seems to span every genre. 

The film begins with Mark Lester (Nigel Moran), an adviser at Alcoholics Anonymous, being fired by his boss, played brilliantly and energetically in a small role from Peter Ravenscroft. He struggles to put his frustration behind him as he makes his way to a stag party with his possibly psychopathic best friend, Jakey-O (Lewis Simpson). Along the way they meet an animalistic cult, a backpacker whose really good at making tea and the well groomed detective, Sean Connery. 

There also a very memorable performance from Ryan Murphy as a drug addicted investigator (who doesn't seem to do much investigating). A performance that channels both Christopher Walken and Al Pacino. 

The direction in By The Light of the Sun is outstanding, including a masterful use of stedicam. Surprise and jealously are two of the emotions one might feel when you see that someone of such a young age has such blatant talent.           

In some technical aspects the film stands above it's station, bordering on professional.  But at the same time it's still just an amateur movie about people being chased by a knife wielding chicken in the woods, something that's abundant on the YouTube. This makes for an interesting combination.  There's something refreshing and joyful about seeing a film that is both well made and made just for fun. 

I do have my reservations, I'm not sure some of the song choices worked in the scenes they were placed over. The film also requires complete audience attention, if you're not taking note of all the characters' names you might find yourself confused by the ending. And I'm also still not sure how all the stories place together.  

If you're lucky enough to get the opportunity to see By The Light of the Sun, I highly recommend you take it, for the sake of ninety minutes of pure entertainment if nothing else. 

To all involved, Bravo.   

Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Linings Playbook

Director: David O'Russel
Written By: David O'Russel 
Photography: Masanobu Takayanagi 
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro.
Year: 2012
Country: USA 


    
 Picture the scene: I've just half heartedly purchased a ticket for Silver Linings Playbook, I've being forced to listen to the Aladdin OST while the screen fills up, I'm getting funny looks and laughs of people for being on my own and I know already that for two hours I'm going to have to sit through the most cynical piece of Oscar bait since Extremely Load and Incredibly Close.

 But something happened to me during Silver Linings Playbook where my reservations were overturned and I was completely won over by the film.

 Pat, played by Bradley Cooper, is diagnosed a with bipolar disorder and has spent time in a mental facility. Upon release he delusionally believes that is ex-lover is waiting for him to get better before they'll restart their relationship, despite a restraining order. Partly in an attempt to gain a link with his Ex-Wife, Pat strikes a friendship with an old acquaintance, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), now suffering from depression after the death of her husband.

 On paper the film seems very 'Hey let me tug at your heart strings.' And if it was directed by say... Cameron Crowe, it probably would be. But David O'Russel tones the film in an honest and sincere way that when you are effected by it's charm (and you will be) it's all natural.

 I personally see it as wrong to call Silver Linings Playbook a comedy about mental illness. What it is is a human drama, with comic moments where several of the characters are affected by mental illness. One of my concerns while sitting listing to A Whole New World was that the film wouldn't differentiate between being ill and just being quirky, but it was quite the contrary . What I really appreciate is that mental illness isn't the catalyst or the but of any joke. Take any of the jokes delivered by Bradley Cooper and give them to one of the many characters in the film not affected by illness and it would remain just as funny.

 The film is propelled by two central powerhouse performances from Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence plus two brilliant mediating roles from Jacki Weaver and  Robert De Niro. Even Chris Tucker manages to be oddly engaging.    

  This good hearted winter-warmer makes the perfect film for a Christmas trip to the cinema. And make sure to see it now, because it will be the film everybody's talking about come February.