Friday 6 May 2011

Facebook - 30 Day Film Challenge = 21-30

Just to complete my trilogy of pointless posts here is the third and final part of my 30 Day Film Challenge. The saga ends here.

Day 21: Your Favourite Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film
Choice: Sunshine
Sunshine is my 2nd favourite Danny Boyle film although curiously the best Danny Boyle film, Shallow Grave, doesn't actually feature in this list. It's a decent little sci-fi thriller which ramps up the claustrophobic feeling to a stressful degree. It also boasts one of the best scores in recent memory with John Murphy's main theme being used in tv shows, Kickass and that annoying advertisement for the cinema which plays in the cinema

Day 22: Your Favourite Horror Film
Choice: The Ring
I was seventeen when The Ring came out. It was the first proper adult horror film I had the pleasure of seeing in the cinema and I was bloody terrified. The kid crawling out of the tv stayed with me for a long time. The Ring 2 is nowhere near as good and is unintentionally funny in places - it just shows what a difference three years can make to your viewing opinions.

Day 23: Your Favourite Thriller/Mystery Film
Choice: Roadkill (aka Joyride)
This isn't the best thriller in the world but it is bloody entertaining. It's the story of two college students and a waster older brother getting stalked by a trucker on a C.B radio. It's cheesy but it's fun. Paul Walker and Leelee Sobieski are terrible actors but Steve Zhan is hilarious. If you haven't seen it I would recommend it just because it is great fun!

Day 24: Your Favourite Animated or Children's Film
Choice: South Park: The Movie
If I went for Disney I would have chosen Beauty and the Beast and if I wanted to be different I would have thrown in Persepolis but I can't help loving this film. People either love South Park or they hate it and I am very much in the love it category. The plot is basically an extended episode of the series only a much better offering than the big screen attempt of The Simpsons. The film has its fair share of songs most of which are better than anything Alan Menkin could come up with. La Resistance is a parody of One Day More from Les Miserables and is wonderfully over dramatic and serious.
Let's not forget that this is also an Oscar nominated film!

Day 25: Your Favourite Documentary Film
Choice: South Park: The Startling

I really struggled with Day 25 as my dvd collection contains not one single documentary film. I chose The Startling as it is a parody of Cloverfield and the latest craze of hand held documentary films with South Park taking the piss in its usual way

Day 26: Your Favourite Foreign Language Film
Choice: The Good The Bad The Weird
It was tempting to go Spanish for this but my dvd collection does have its fair share of Asian films. This is a South Korean remake of The Good The Bad and The Ugly and although the original is considered a classic I think the Korean version is much more fun and entertaining. It also has a killer score.

Day 27: Your Favourite Independent Film
Choice: Clerks

Clerks is the story of two shop workers and how they pass their time at work - basically they stand around all day and talk about Star Wars. The "Casualties of War" conversation regarding construction workers on the Death Star is classic and not unlike the ridiculous conversations that The Nerdy Trio find themselves having. A sequel came out about ten years later cleverly called Clerks 2. The budget was bigger which enabled them to shoot in colour and cast Rosario Dawson. It doesn't have the charm of the original but it is still very entertaining.

Day 28: The Most Obscure Film You Have Ever Watched
Choice: Oldboy

This film was recommended back in the days of myspace and on the advice of those more knowledgeable than myself I sought it out and watched it.. Oldboy was my first foray into Korean cinema and it was uncomfortable yet absolutely riveting viewing. I was emotionally traumatised for days after watching this film.

Day 29: Your Favourite Film As A Kid
Choice: Watership Down

My favourite film as a child is now my favourite book as an adult and this review explains why in detail that I would never be able to convey:

http://intellectualmediocrity.blogspot.com/2011/05/watership-down-richard-adams.html

It may be about rabbits but their story never fails to make me cry

Day 30: Your Favourite Film This Time Last Year
Choice: The Boondock Saints
I lied about this being my favourite film from last year but thirty of the lords days have passed and I didn't manage to get The Boondock Saints onto my list. It's flawed, cheaply made and speaking as an actual Irish person the accents are questionable but I don't care as I love every minute of it.

Even though I promised this was to be the last in the trilogy I have decided to follow the trend of the reboot and a new trilogy based on the 30 Day TV Challenge will be here in approximately ten days time.

8 comments:

  1. End it with the Saints, fitting K! Great choices across the board. TV challenge sound a lot more difficult.

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  2. I had to get it in somehow!

    The tv challenge is hard - a lot of shows will be used a couple of times

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  3. I loved Shallow Grave but have not been able to find it on DVD. God it was years ago that I saw it and must be one of the last movies I saw at the old State theatre because it was shut down. I didn't like Sunshine though! I honestly couldn't stop yawning!!
    The Ring was cool and I really liked it. Naomi Watts was amaster stroke as she is such a fine actress and her ability lifted the quality of the movie well above the average.
    I vividly remember Watership Down at the theatre. I watched it recently after finishing the book. It has dated visually but captures the essence of the book well.

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  4. I have an old old old dvd of Shallow Grave - back in the days before special features.

    We are at opposite ends of the scale when it comes to Sunshine. :-)

    I like the fact that Watership Down looks old and dated as it suits it. If it was remade it would look shiny and new and would totally lose its charm. I am reading this again - almost half way through it!!

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  5. I agree! I hope to god it is never re-made as it would lose all its charm. You flatter me too much by linking to my review!!

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  6. Ha ha ha ha!! Don't tell me...is Cilian Murphy the reason you like sunshine??!! The penny just dropped about 2 minutes ago as to his 'heritage'!!!!!!!!!

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  7. Nah - it's because of Chris Evans ;-)

    (be warned Chris Evans is my go to "I need a 90min film to fill a gap guilty pleasure" actor)

    Sunshine is one of those films that I like although I can fully see what other people don't like in it but the score is just amazing

    I really thought your write up on Watership Down was fantastic. I knew it was going to be my Day 29 early on and it was coincidence that I spotted your review of it!

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  8. I replied to this but the website went down and it deleted my post!

    I do like Cillian Murphy but Chris Evans has always been my guilty pleasure actor :-)

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