Annie Hall Review

 Number 177 on the top 1000 films of all time is Woody Allen's romantic comedy-drama Annie Hall.

Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) is a neurotic, Jewish comedian living in New York. Having always been unsuccessful with women, he thinks he's struck gold with the titular Annie Hall (Diane Keaton.) But when that relationship inevitably fails, he spends the whole film wondering why.

 Generally regarded as Woody Allen's greatest film and one of the greatest comedies of all time, Annie Hall didn't particularly tickle my funny bone. Sure there were lots of clever use of meta-humour and fourth-wall breaks which were comical, but the entire film set like a set-up for a joke. I was waiting and waiting for a punchline that never arrived. I was chuckling throughout, but never rolling in the aisles, so to speak. Perhaps this is due to Woody Allen's comedic style. I'm not particularly familiar with his work, but I've read that Allen's stand-up, rather than following the conventional set up and punchline, was more of a rambling monologue.

And perhaps this is why the film didn't quite land with me. It was more of a series of comical vignettes that roughly match up as opposed to a cohesive narrative. I imagine that was intentional but it still made the film very fragmented. Furthermore, in Allen's comedy he usually plays the character of the neurotic Jewish man, which is what we see here. While this could potentially be comedic gold, and his cynical mindset elicited a few laughs, the character did start to grate on me after a while.

This isn't to say that I disliked the whole film. I did enjoy the meta-humour from Alvy's asides to the audience to the subtitles highlighting Alvy's and Annie's hidden feelings behind their shared smalltalk to when Alvy brings out the real-life Marshall Mcluhan to confront a loud-mouthed moviegoer with controversial opinions about his filmography. Diane Keaton played Annie Hall with a sympathy that made her more likeable than Alv. Her character was very much the polar opposite of him - spontaneous, optimistic and happy-go-lucky which was a refreshing change to Alv's pessimism.

And the supporting cast were great as well. Paul Simon gave a good turn as an actor, Shelley Duvall was great as usual and as always Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Walken were delightfully over the top. I still maintain that The Deer Hunter was Walken's best film as he is the most human there. In a lot of his other roles, he's just playing an inflated caraicture of himself.

While Annie Hall was funny in places with an Oscar-winning performance from Diane Keaton, there was just too much set-up and not enough punchline. As they say, good comedy is all in the delivery, and for me, the delivery just wasn't there.

The Princess Bride review

 Number 176 on the top 1000 films of all time is Rob Reiner's fantasy drama 'The Princess Bride. Although this film is on the aforementioned list, that's not why I'm reviewing it. It recently appeared on my top ten movie list so I will give my thoughts here.

A young boy (Fred Savage) is sick and tucked up in bed. To cheer him up, his grandfather (Peter Falk) reads him the book ' The Princess Bride.' The book tells the story of the true love between Westley (Cary Elwes) and Buttercup (Robin Wright) who have been separated by fate. When Westley seemingly dies, Buttercup becomes engaged to Prince Humperdink (Chris Sarandon) but she is then kidnapped before the wedding can take place. Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Wallace Shawn and Billy Crystal all co-star.

This film has always been one of my favourites so I wondered whether it was blind nostalgia that influenced me to add it to my top ten list. However, upon a recent rewatch, it most definitely holds up. Firstly, it is hilarious. I must have seen it a hundred times, but it still had me in fits of giggles. Sure at times it was cheesy and unbelievable but by the same admission it's supposed to be. It's a fantasy fairy-tale after all. Further, the meta-narrative helps to combat some of the cheesiness whenever things get too lovey-dovey between Westley and Buttercup, we always cut back tot he grandson pleading that he doesn't have to hear the kissing scene.

We see the metaness continue with the subversion of traditional fairy tale tropes. Our supposed Prince Charming seemingly dies soon into the film, the ginormous Fezzik turns out to be a gentle giant rather than a mindless killing machine and even the albino who tortures Westley just has a frog in his throat. We might also expect Westley and Prince Humperdink to fight to the death but instead Westley outbluffs the prince and spareshis life. In fact, the big climatic scene takes place between Inigo Matoya and Count Rugen which I'll come to in a moment. 

And these subversions is what made this film so fun to watch. Although Buttercup did fall a little too neatly inoto the damsel in distress trope. other than screaming and getting into trouble, she was pretty useless. She wasn't exactly and Ellen Ripley or sarah O'Connor.

But the Princess Bride also had real heart. And I don't mean the cheesy true love story between Westley and Buttercup. Rather I am speaking about the Inigo Montoya subplot where the Spaniard is on a quest to avenge his father's killer - the villainous Count Rugen who was played brilliant by Christopher Guest. Guest was just the perfect amount of stone-cold severity.

The film climaxes with Inigo duelling Rugen where the former finally gains his revenge. Reportedly Mandy Painkin's father died of cancer shortly before filming. Patinkin took the role of Inigo as he connected with the character. When he kills Rugen, he imagined, he was killing the cancer that killed his father. This led to one of the film's most badass lines: "I want my father back, you son of a bitch."

    The music was also great Every composition matched up perfectly with its corresponding scene. in Westley and Inigo's duel, the music punctuates fight choreography brilliantly. The same goes for Inigo and Rugen's duel.

   Finally I have to acknowledge the amazing supporting cast who stole every scene they were in. We've already talked about Andre the Giant who stopped Fezzik from being sheer comic relief. Wallace Shawn was also great as the villainous Vizzini. He was delightfully over the top without being pantomimy. And of course we have Billy Crystal and Carol Kane who provided some of the film's funniest scenes as Miracle Max and his wife Valerie. reportedly, director Rob Reiner had to leave the set when filming as his laughter kept ruining the takes.

This film is a timeless classic that has stood up for over three decades. It's hilarious with real heart and iconic dialogue. I shall end on one of the film's most recognisable lines: "hello. My name is Inigo Montoya.You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Fargo film Review

 Number 175 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Coen brothers' 1996 black comedy crime film Fargo.

Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) hires two hitmen Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife to extort a ransom from her wealthy father. When the kidnapping goes awry and three innocents end up dead, police woman Marge Gunderson (Frances Mcdormand) investigates.

This is the second Coen Brothers' film I've seen after The Big Lebowski, and I've also watched Noah Hawley's TV series, Fargo, which was inspired by this very film. Out of the three, I definitely found the movie Fargo, the easiest to follow. It was the simplest with no enigmatic cowboys or UFO encounters.

But then again, it really was nothing special either. And that's down to how unmemorable the characters are. Upon writing this review for the first time, I couldn't remember any of the character's names apart from Marge Gunderson. When it came to the supposed protagonist, Jerry Lundegaard, (I'll come to this later,) his journey was murky.

I can't remember it being explained why he exactly wanted his wife kidnapped and ransomed apart from some vague explanation about how he desperately needed the cash. This kept his motivations opaque and I thought it was strange that we were focussing so much on a character who wasn't even the protagonist. Apparently, the real star was Marge Gunderson who doesn't appear until 33 minutes into the film.

Frances Mcdormand won her first acting Oscar for this film, but I'm not sure why. I haven't seen enough of Mcdormand's work to rate her acting ability, but Fargo didn't do her any favours. She doesn't appear until a third into the film, and when she does, she drinks coffee, eats breakfast and says "yeah," in her "Minnesota Nice." She only stumbles upon Showalter and Grimsrud's cabin by sheer dumb luck. Also I'm no gun expert, but I am sceptical that Gunderson's little Smith & Wesson would have the range to take out the fleeing Grimsrud. But I do think that Mcdormand was short-changed. She wasn't given enough to do to make her performance Oscar-worthy.

I'm not ragging on the film completely. I think Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare were great. Their scenes together provided a lot of the film's humour. Despite having only twenty lines of dialogue, Stormare had a brilliant presence, being a true menace in every scene. And Steve Buscemi is great in every film he's in.

All in all, Fargo was an entertaining crime thriller, but nothing special. Certainly not Oscar-material. And I know the "Minnesota Nice" accents were exaggerated, but it remains one of the weirdest accents in the US.

The 400 Blows review

 Number 174 on the top 1000 films of all time is Francois Chauffert's 1959 coming of age drama 'The 400 Blows.'

Antoine Daniel (Jean-Pierre Lenard) is a school boy growing up in Paris. Plagued by behavioural problems, he acts up in schools and causes trouble at home.

The 400 Blows is considered to be one of the best French films of all time, but I am at a loss to why. Partly based on Chauffert's own troubled childhood, The 400 Blows did remind me of Ingrid Bergman's work. Granted it wasn't as nearly as abstract or surreal, but the same themes of introspection and a misunderstood character rebelling against a tyrannical system were present. 

Now I have no problem with character-driven films that study characters in depth. But for these to work, the characters in question have to be interesting and empathetic. Antoine Daniel was neither of these. He is barely even a rebel. Stealing type writers and writing on school walls hardly makes him a rebel without a cause. On that note Rebel Without a Cause explores similar themes and does it so much more effectively, mainly because of James Dean's brilliant performance. I really believed the alienation and isolation he was feeling.

Not so with Jean-Pierre Lenard. I just didn't care about him. Later on, upon trying to return the typewriter, he is arrested. His despairing parents send him to a psychiatric institution where it's revealed that he was an illegitimate child born to a mother that didn't want him. While this goes some way to explaining his behaviour, I think it came too late in the film. I had just stopped caring at this point. Plus Antoine reveals how his mother would shout at him, but I saw little evidence of this. Rather, his parents seemed to resort to bribes to control his behaviour as opposed to violence.

Honestly, I thought Antoine was just another poxy little kid causing trouble for the sake of it and the 400 Blows was a pale imitation of its far superior predecessors.

My top ten films of all time

 In 2015, I embarked on the challenge of watching the top 1000 films of all time. Six years later, I am sadly only 307 films into my quest, but I've watched enough to films to form my top ten list.

Most of these films I've only watched because of this list, but one or two of my all-time favourites have also slipped in. Apart from my number one film, which I'll save until last, this list is in no particular order.

The top ten list

City of God (2002)

One thing that I've loved about this challenge is that I've been able to witness the best that World Cinema has to offer. And City of God is undoubtedly the best. It tells the unflinching story of two boys growing up in the drug-fuelled favelas of Rio De Janerio. It is a brutal and painfully realistic look of how drugs can destroy somebody's life. Expect a roller-coaster that doesn't slow up for a minute.

Old Boy (2003)

Another classic of World Cinema. This Korean film is a revenge thriller focussing on Dae-su Oh who seeks vengeance on the man who locked him up for fifteen years. Brimming with gorgeous Korean proverbs, this film will keep you guessing all the way to the shock ending which is one of the biggest twists in movie history.

Rang De Basanti (2006)

We've come to the realm of Indian cinema. 3 Idiots was a close second but Rang De Basanti edges it for the sheer power of its narrative. Following the story of a British film maker who is producing a documentary about early leaders of Indian independence, this film will have you laughing, crying and everything in between. Sure there are a lot of musical numbers, but what else can you expect from Indian cinema?

The Hunt (2002)

Onto an absolutely fantastic Danish film. Lukas (Mads Mikkleson) is a school teacher falsely accused of sexually abusing one of his students. A witch-hunt ensues and the whole town turns against him. In a film where truth and lies merge into one, you'll be on the edge of your seat. This outstanding film blew me away.

Full Metal Jacket (1987) 

Forget The Deer Hunter or Apocalypse Now, Stanley Kubrick blew every other war film out the water with his brutal portrayal of the Vietnam War. Full Metal Jacket left me in absolute awe. From Vincent D'Onofrio to Lee R Ermey to Adam Baldwin, this film is littered with acting talent. Some might say that the film is unbalanced and mismatched, but I think the two halves compliment each other beautifully. A must-see.

Her (2013)

Finally we're onto a film with slightly more happy subject matter. I say slightly as Her will still be tugging at your heart strings. Rom-coms aren't my thing which is why Her surprised me so much. Subverting the genre with a science-fiction twist, Her tells the story of lonely divorcee Theodore Thwombly (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with an operating system voiced by Scarlett Johanson. With much to say about the importance of human connection, Her  is a very underrated film.

Three and Out (2008)

Speaking of underrated, we come to the Indie British black comedy Three and Out. Panned by audiences and critics alike, I must be the only person in the world who would put Three and Out, on a top ten list, but I am. Paul Callow is a train driver/writer who wants nothing more than to leave the hustle-bustle of London and write on an island. When he runs two people over with his train, his colleagues tell him that if he runs over a third person, TFL will pay him off with ten years wages. Ensue hilarity and heartbreak as Paul tries to find his third victim. Mackenzie Crook, Colm Meaney, Imelda Staunton and Gemma Arteton all turn in winning performances. But perhaps this film is an acquired taste.

The Full Monty (1997)

I have never officially reviewed this film as I watched it long before I started this challenge. However, it remains one of my favourite films ever. Having won the Bafta for the best film in 1997, this movie was adored by many. We follow a bunch of former steel workers and layabouts becoming strippers in the hopes of improving their lives. While the premise might sound spurious, the execution is anything but. The Full Monty tackles themes like masculinity, father-son relationships and suicide in powerful ways. Tom Wilkinson and Mark Addy are great in supporting roles, but can we all agree that Robert Carlyle is one of the best actors that Scotland has ever produced?

Snatch (2000)

Out of all these films, Snatch is the one film I could watch over and over again. A fantastic crime-caper, Snatch will have you laughing in the aisles. We see two interlinking narratives: one follows boxing promoter Turkish (Jason Statham) as he navigates the criminal underworld, but we also see every gangster in London trying to get their hands on a rare diamond. Snatch is one of the most quotable films ever with brad Pitt offering his most unlike-Brad Pitt performance ever, as the Gypsy bareknuckle boxer Mickey O'Neil. Bloody hell, does he do that Irish accent well?

The Godfather (1970)

Finally, we have reached my number one film of all time. What can I say about this film which hasn't been said already? Everybody knows Nino Rota's magnificent score, they know Marlon Brando as mafia don Vito Corleone, his son Michael as his reluctant protege, played by Al Pacino. This film reignited Hollywood's fascination with the mafia. At three hours long it is paced brilliantly with every shot pushing forward the narrative. It is not just the best gangster movie of all time, but the best film of all time. After all, it was the subject of my ten-thousand word dissertation. Let's just not talk about the Godfather part three.

Honourable Mentions

I've watched too many great films to not include at least a few honourable mentions. These are all great films in their own right, but not quite good enough to scratch the top ten.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Originally RFAD was in my top ten but I demoted it because it's too upsetting to watch again. Amazing for sure, but too heartbreaking for repeat viewings. Charting the self-destruction of four drug addicts in New York, RFAD is the best anti-drug PSA you'll ever see with a killer theme tune and fast-paced editing. Watching this film gave me the best high but with an absolutely awful come down.

The Princess Bride (1987)

This subversion of the traditional fairy-tale still stands up even after thirty years. with so many quotable scenes and iconic characters, the Princess Bride will have you rolling in the aisles and reaching for the tissues. Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright, Andre the Giant...the amazing cast goes on and on. And who can forget one of the most quoted film lines ever: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Mary and Max (2009) 

This Australian stop-motion, claymation dramatic comedy absolutely blew me away. I've never heard of it before, but it was simply fantastic. I've never seen anything like it before or since. Following the unlikely relationship of the two titular characters, this film is pure arthouse. If you're looking for something completely different, a movie with offbeat humour, a unique visual style and the most haunting rendition of Que Sera Sera, Mary and Max is the film for you.

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

I watched this film once many years ago and it was too upsetting to watch again, hence why there is no review. I've grown up on Studio Ghibli, so one of their films had to make an appearance on this list.  Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro were also in the mix, but Grave of the Fireflies is undoubtedly the best. Set in the twilight days of WW2 Japan, we watch a teenage boy and his little sister desperately try to survive the war. When you watch this, make sure you have the tissue box handy.

Untouchable (2011)

This French feel-good comedy drama rounds off my list nicely. I rewatched it the other day and it was still as magical as ever. Following the story of quadraplegic billionare Philippe and his unconventional carer Driss, this film holds a special place in my heart because of my own work as a carer. The anti-climactic ending is the only thing that stops it from going on my top ten.

So there we have it. My top ten films with a few HMs. But with 693 films left to watch, this list is far from being set in stone. Watch this space.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Review

 Number 173 on the top 1000 films of all time is George Roy-Hill's 1969 Western, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and Harry 'Sundance' Longabaugh (Robert Redford) based upon the real-life outlaws of the same name, are your two most likable bank and train robbers ever. However, upon robbing one train too many, a bounty is set on their heads. To escape the hunters, the pair flee to Bolivia but their troubles are far from over.

In undertaking this challenge, I have watched a fair few Westerns and I admit that I've never been a big fan. Cowboy films just aren't my thing. Butch Cassidy and Sundance was an exception. And perhaps this is because the film doesn't take itself too seriously. Rather than watching two hours of Clint Eastwood scowling, I was treated to the brilliant on-screen chemistry of Newman and Redford.

Having already seen The Sting, I know how well these two can work together with Newman leading the action and Redford bouncing off of him as his sidekick. And the pair's relationship is obvious right from the start. Cassidy's crew have mutinied against him with Harvey Logan (Ted Cassidy) taking control. Logan challenges Cassidy to a duel but Cassidy fights dirty and quickly wins. All the while, Sundance never doubts his partner.

The two of them are so damn charming that their victims enjoy being robbed by them. Despite how the train guard on the Union Pacific Overland Flyer is so honoured to be robbed by the pair, but has to remain loyal to his company. For his loyalty, he is rewarded with a face full of dynamite. Later on, E.H Harriman, the owner of the Union Pacific, sends a posse of expert trackers and bounty hunters after our heroes. They are cornered to a cliff where Cassidy convinces Sundance to jump into the river below despite Sundance admitting he can't swim.

Having plunged into the waters below, Sundance desperately clings onto Cassidy to try and stay afloat. Their ensuing conversation was funny to hear, but this brings me onto my first issue witht he film. And it's how the E.H Harriman storyline doesn't go anywhere. At first, it's very intense to see our heroes be hunted across rock and sand by a ruthless posse and an expert Indian tracker, but this rising action doesn't culminate in any big climax.

Cassidy and Sundance escape and that's that. I thought that we would be in for a big dramatic gunfight between our heroes and the posse, but it wasn't to be. This tension culminated in a fizzle rather than a bang. Rather, we get our climax with the two hiding in Bolivia. Having tried and failed to go straight, Sundance and Cassidy return to robbing banks, despite their complete lack of Spanish, which leads to the film's funniest scene.

But they soon attract the attention of the Bolivian police and army who pin down our heroes with no means of escape. Again, I expected Harriman to appear, but again I was disappointed. Another thing I didn't like was the use of montage as a pure exposition device to showcase the hero's journey from America to Bolivia. It felt very rushed and I think this could have been explored more.

Lastly, I just want to praise Karathine Ross as Cassidy's love interest - Etta Place. Ross really helped to provide the film some heart. She begrudingly agrees to go to Bolivia with the pair on the one condition that she doesn't watch them die.

And this emotional subplot helped to balance out the comedy, drama and action. All of these elements blended together to make a vastly enjoyable film with great performances from its lead actors.

Persona review

 Number 172 on the top 1000 films of all time is Ingmar Bergman's psychological thriller Persona.

Alma (Bibi Andersson) is a nurse charged with looking after Elisabet Volgar (Liv Ullman) who has inexplicably become muter. Alma's matron believes Elisabet will better heal in a remote seaside cottage and send her and Alma there. Alma starts losing her minds as she finds it more and more difficult to distinguish between herself and Elisabet.

Film critic Thomas Elsaesser described Persona as "besides Citizen Kane, the most written about film in the canon," and it is easy to see why. Having watched The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries and Fanny and Alexander, I would characterise Bergman's films as classic arthouse that only diehard cinephiles would understand. Persona is no exception to this.

As the film begins, we are treated to an abstract collection of images including a tarantula, a crucifixion, all culminating with a young boy waking up in hospital. From there, we cut to Nurse Alma in the most minimalist hospital ever, being assigned her new charge of Elisabet. We then immediately see Alma's self-doubt about being able to care for her.

Things only get weirder when Alma and Elisabet move to the seaside cottage and Alma begins confiding in Elisabet about her own anxieties before eventually confessing to cheating on her husband by having an orgy with some teenage boys, one of them impregnating her which she later aborts. Elisabet then tells her that she should go to bed, but Alma dismisses this as a dream.

Upon delivering the mail, Alma reads a letter that Elisabet has written and find that her charge is silently studying and mocking her behaviour and a fight ensues. What was also interesting was Bergman's minimalist soundtrack. In pivotal scenes, such as the fight scene, where you might expect there to be music, Bergman solely employed silence. This did wonders for raising the suspense.

As did Bergman's minimalist style. Everything was so plain from the costumes to the interior set designs to even the seaside location. There was nothing there to distract you from the action happening on screen. 

As Alma's mental health deteriorates, she finds it harder to distinguish herself from Elisabet. At the film's conclusion, Elisabet's husband arrives and confuses Alma for his wife. Despite Alma initially correcting him, she eventually accepts her new identity and makes love with Mr Vogler. The film climaxes with Alma narrating Elisabet's tragic backstory. She became pregnant with Mr Vogler, but believing she lacked motherliness, she started hating her unborn child and repeatedly tried to abort it without success. When the child was born, she continued to hate it and prayed for its death.

The monologue is then repeated, but with the focus on Alma before a split screen shows both women's faces side-by-side, symbolising the changes of identity. Both women are also dressed very similarly in black dresses with the same hairstyle and they are very difficult to distinguish, all further symbolising Alma's deteriorating mind. After the monologue, Elisabet becomes completely catatonic and Alma later leaves with the camera showing that she is being filmed by a cameraman and a director. I thought that the two would undertake a full role reversal with Alma becoming catatonic and Elisabet regaining the ability to speak - whether she actually lost it in the first place is still up for debate.

As are many different aspects of this film. Why the imagery of the crucifixion? Why the footage of Buddist Monks self-imolating or the infamous Stroop Report photograph? Why did Alma force Elisabet to drink her blood? And why was Alma being filmed at the end? All of these questions and more have been analysed with no conclusive answer given. And I cannot offer any more answers here. For I am not a cinophile or film critic. I guess I liked the film, but it was also very surreal and very confusing. Instead, I'll concur with Bergman who has refused to give any concrete interpretations in favour of viewers making their own opinions.