Still Trapped in No Blogging Film Land

Sorry. Still under uni's thumb...... :( Just a couple more weeks....

My life as of now

Sorry about the lack of posting but I have been immersed in... life; a life with little film. Yes, it is hard but bear with me. Film will come into my life again very soon as soon as I get all this study under wraps and have time to stop and breathe.

But in the meantime for your amusement....

America's Got Talent (damn they sure do)






Who cares if this isn't real? It looks awesome.

Top 25 People on the Silver Screen

Or: On the 'Love List'

(I have lists of people in the acting industry which include: Love List; Like List; Meh List; Ick List; No Way in Hell List and the What Picture Have I Seen Them In Before? List.)

1. Toni Collette (1972- )
   

Watch: The Sixth Sense, About A Boy and Little Miss Sunshine
Why?: She's an awesome Australian actress who has a real talent for bringing the reality out of her characters.

2. Reese Witherspoon (1976- )

Watch: Walk the Line, Legally Blonde and Election
Why?: She's a recent addition to this list since Walk the Line. A serious actress for strong female roles.

3. Joaquin Phoenix (1974- )

Watch: Walk the Line, Hotel Rwanda and Signs
Why?: Incredibly passionate. I don't think I've seen him in a film where he isn't shaking from emotion.

4. Geoffrey Rush (1951- )

Watch: Shine, Les Miserables and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Why?: Have you seen Shine? Go and see it. Now!

5. Joan Cusack (1962- )

Watch: Addam's Family Values and Corrina, Corrina
Why?: Can't place it but whenever I see her in a movie I get this big smile on my face.

6. Emily Watson (1967- )

Watch: Equilibrium, Punch-Drunk Love and Angela's Ashes
Why?: She's just really really good.

7. Kate Winslet (1975- )

Watch: Finding Neverland, Quills and Sense and Sensibility
Why?: Her intelligence and inner strength plays out in all her characters. Plus she's an amazing role model for young women.

8. Anthony Hopkins (1937- )

Watch: The Silence of the Lambs and Remains of the Day
Why?: The amount of effort and dedication he puts into all his roles is amazing. Plus I love the way he talks.


9. Robin Williams (1951- )

Watch: Dead Poet's Society, Happy Feet and Aladdin
Why?: I grew up with this guy (on the screen!) so there's a bit of nostalgia. Must have seen Mrs Doubtfire a million times as a kid (younger kid!)


10. Sandra Bullock (1964- )

Watch: Crash, Speed and While You Where Sleeping
Why?: As with Mr Williams she was a familiar face on the screen. I love her in the fun loving films.


11. Emma Thompson (1959- )

Watch: Much Ado About Nothing, Sense and Sensibility, Re
Why?: She is the queen of dialogue. And does wit so well.


12. Viggo Mortensen (1958- )

Watch: Witness and Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Why?: Says so much while saying so little. Okay, I really can't explain it but he's just damn cool.



13. Morgan Freeman (1937- )

Watch: The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en and Unforgiven
Why?: He's the cool, calm guy in every film. More of a character actor, he plays the role so well. His voice makes for the perfect narration too.



14. Sam Neill (1947- )

Watch: Merlin (TV), The Piano and The Jungle Book
Why?: He just brings such a unique, comfortable performance to the screen.



15. Jodie Foster (1962- )

Watch: The Silence of the Lambs and Nell
Why?: She has an amazing screen presence.


16. James Stewart (1908- 1997)

Watch: It's a Wonderful Life, Rear Window and Vertigo
Why?: What's not to love?


17. Grace Kelly (1929- 1982)

Watch: Dial M for Murder and Rear Window
Why?: Just brings so much style and elegance to her roles. A true star.




18. Marilyn Monroe (1926- 1962)

Watch: Some Like It Hot
Why?: Yes, I must watch more of Miss Monroe's films. She plays the 'sweetie' so well (and apparently in a lot of takes too!)



19. Jet Li (1963- )

Watch: Hero and The Once Upon A Time In China Trilogy
Why?: Just awesome to watch. I think he's probably the main reason I like watching martial arts.


20. Christian Bale (1974- )

Watch: Equilibrium, The Prestige and Little Women
Why?: He's such a versatile actor. It's fantastic how he fits into the different roles.


21. Sean Penn (1960- )

Watch: 21 Grams, I Am Sam and Dead Man Walking
Why?: Likes to tackle the difficult roles and subjects. Gives great performances.



22. Alan Rickman (1946- )

Watch: Galaxy Quest, Love Actually and Sense and Sensibility
Why?: I just love his manner in all his films!


23. Natalie Portman (1981- )

Watch: Mars Attack!, Where the Heart Is and Garden State
Why?: Possibly one of the best young actresses around.



24. Denzel Washington (1956- )

Watch: Much Ado About Nothing, Man on Fire and Remember the Titans
Why?: A great character actor! And great with the one liners too!



25. Gene Wilder (1933- )

Watch: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein
Why?: Nobody does insanity like Mr Gene Wilder. It's all in the eyes folks!





This was hard! I love a lot of actors/actresses! And it seems I like Sense and Sensibility a lot too.

Classics (102 Film Moments Con.)

60. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
I Hope
One of the best endings to the best movie.



61. The Godfather (1972)
Opening Scene
"You come to me on my daughters wedding day.." Who hasn't imitated that line?


62. The Sixth Sense (1999)
The Twist
The best ending! The revelation is great!


63. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Close Up
Brilliant style and acting in this famous last scene.



64. Psycho (1960)
I wouldn't hurt a fly
Yet another fantastic creepy as hell ending.


65. Modern Times (1936)
The tramp sings!
Fun for the whole family. Nice lil' ditty.


66. The Graduate (1967)
Are you trying to seduce me?
Apparently so. Do you want to be seduced?



67. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Walking home from the dance
Unfortunately I could only find this little excerpt but the whole scene is fantastic.


68. Back to the Future (1985)
Calvin Klein
Waking up with a younger mum? Now that's heavy!



69. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
First meeting
Clarice Starlings awesomely chilling interview with Dr Lecter (or should I say the other way round!). Anyone for lunch?


70. Rocky (1976)
Training
Eye of the Tiger is just the perfect track. Who does not feel like jogging every time they hear this song?


71. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Best way to approach a sword fight
Just watch!


72. Crocodile Dundee (1986)
That's a knife
Personally I prefer Dundee's entrance into the pub, but this scene's pretty classic.


73. The King and I (1956)
Shall We Dance?
One, Two, Three And?



Next Up: Those which I personally connect with for various reasons as you shall see....

Blood and Bullets (102 Film Moments con.)

**Possible Spoilers**

(And Violence! And Gore!)

50. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings (2001)

The Nazgul

No blood or bullets to warm us up, but these guys sure gave me the shivers. Would not want to run into them on a dark night. Love the design and the horses give it that extra nice touch.

51. The Matrix (1999)

The Lobby Scene #1

Overkill of bullets! Or How to kill people in style!

52. Equilibrium (2002)

The Lobby Scene #2

Turns out, Bale can kick ass just as good as Reeves.

53. Hannibal (2001)

Dinner

A guy eats his own brains. Thought I might warn ya. While the rest of the movie wasn't brilliant, this ...is.

54. PhoneBooth (2002)

Shot

The only way to save him is to shot him. ...Awesome. Great tension on the scene all through the picture.

55. 300 (2006)

Slow Motion

I'm sorry did you need that leg? No worries, I'll just place this sword through your chest. Please grunt manly to improve the effect.

56.Casino Royale (2006)

Heart Stoppin'

The first time you try to start your own heart is always the hardest.

57. Roger and Me (1989)

How to Skin a Rabbit

To be honest I looked away during this sequence at uni but I certainly remembered it. Hey, I used to own rabbits, leave me alone! I love the start: "He's going to be eaten".

58. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Heart Stoppin #2

Drugs and bad, kids. Drugs are bad.

59. Quills (2000)

I found her!

So is erotic fiction in a mental institution according to this.

60. Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)

Stake the heart!

And to end: Gallons of blood! Very similar scene in Sleepy Hollow but I saw this one first.

Next: Classic Classics

Visual Film Candy (102 Film Moments con.)

**Possible Spoilers**


35. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Opening scene
A classic fairy tale introduction.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IZaBeWgFqo

36. The Secret Garden (1993)
Mary and Dickons
Two's company, three's a crowd in this picturesque garden.






37. X2: Xmen United (2003)
Mutant Freedom
The effects are awesome!


38. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Intro credits
Sums up the first movie so well without any audio explanation and all of those pictures would make excellent posters.


39. Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Paso Doble
The cinematography is spot on as Scott enters the floor.


40. Minority Report (2002)
Sypders
I love overhead shots (or birds eye) and this is my favourite. You'll need to mute it though cos the twit who put it on youtube put their own crappy audio on.


41. The Piano (1993)
On the beach
The long shot as the walk off is just beautiful.


42. The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (1994)
Top of the bus
No explanation needed!


43. Hero (2002)
A Hero Dies
Choice of colours is fantastic. A beautiful scene.


44. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
So long and thanks for all the fish!
Dolphins are cool!


45. Big Fish (2003)
Time Stops
If you ever want time to freeze, a circus is The place for it!


46. Children of Men (2006)
War Zone
Awesome tracking shot. This camera guy is my hero.


47. Schindler's List (1993)
Girl in Red
Great way to connect with one in the crowd. Later you see her body on a heap of piled corpses.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHkYkHnBN-A

48. Finding Neverland (2004)
Theatre
Awesome shot to connect the magic on the stage to Peter, the boy who inspired it.




49. Mary Poppins (1964)
Steppin Time!
Great choreography in a classic kids pic!


Next: Heart stoppin' scenes (sometimes literally!)

Brilliant Dialogue (Film Moments Con.)

**Possible Spoilers**

25. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Internet geek
Whole movie is quotable but Kip's line here is the one I remember the most. (That and the 1% milk line.)


26.Red Eye (2005)
From Charming to Psycho.
And you think a guys just trying to chat you up when he pulls this trick.


27. A League of Their Own (1992)
There's no crying in baseball!


28. Notting Hill (1999)
The Last Brownie
The stress of being a star (plus a nice look at the other characters)

MAX
  I'm not saying it's a bad thing, in
  fact, I think it's something we should
  take pride in.  I'm going to give the
  last brownie as a prize to the saddest
  act here.

 A little pause.  Then William turns to Bernie.

    WILLIAM
  Bernie.

    BERNIE
  Well, obviously it's me, isn't it --
  I work in the City in a job I don't
  understand and everyone keeps getting
  promoted above me.  I haven't had a
  girlfriends since... puberty and,
  well, the long and short of it is,
  nobody fancies me, and if these cheeks
  get any chubbier, they never will.

    HONEY
  Nonsense.  I fancy you.  Or I did
  before you got so far.

    MAX
  You see -- and unless I'm much mistaken,
  your job still pays you rather a lot of
  money, while Honey here, she earns
  nothing flogging her guts out at
  London's seediest record store.

    HONEY
  Yes.  And I don't have hair -- I've got
  feathers, and I've got funny goggly
  eyes, and I'm attracted to cruel men and
  ... no one'll ever marry me because my
  boosies have actually started
  shrinking.

    MAX
  You see -- incredibly sad.

    BELLA
  On the other hand, her best friend is
  Anna Scott.

    HONEY
  That's true, I can't deny it.  She
  needs me, what can I say?

    BELLA
  And most of her limbs work.  Whereas
  I'm stuck in its thing day and night,
  in a house full of ramps.  And to add
  insult to serious injury -- I've
  totally given up smoking, my favourite
  thing, and the truth is... we can't
  have a baby.

 Dead silence.

    WILLIAM
  Bella.

 Bella shrugs her shoulders.  Bernie is totally grief-struck.

    BERNIE
  No.  Not true...

    BELLA
  C'est la vie... We're lucky in lots
  of ways, but... Surely it's worth a
  brownie.

 William reaches for her hand.  Max breaks the sombre mood.

    MAX
  Well, I don't know.  Look at
  William.  Very unsuccessful
  professionally.  Divorced.  Used to
  be handsome, now kind of squidgy
  around the edges -- and absolutely
  certain never to hear from Anna again
  after she's heard that his nickname
  at school was Floppy.

 They all laugh.  Anna smiles across at William.

    WILLIAM
  So I get the brownie?

    MAX
  I think you do, yes.

    ANNA
  Wait a minute.  What about me?

    MAX
  I'm sorry?  You think you deserve the
  brownie?

    ANNA
  Well... a shot at it.

    WILLIAM
  You'll have to prove it.  This is a
  great brownie and I'm going to fight
  for it.  State your claim.

    ANNA
  Well, I've been on a diet since I was
  nineteen, which means basically I've
  been hungry for a decade.  I've had a
  sequence of not nice boyfriends -- one
  of whom hit me: and every time my heart
  gets broken it gets splashed across
  the newspapers as entertainment.
  Meantime, it cost millions to get me
  looking like this...

    HONEY
  Really?

    ANNA
  Really -- and one day, not long from
  now...

 While she says this, quiet settles around the table.  The thing
 is -- she sort of means it and is opening up to them.

    ANNA
  ... my looks will go, they'll find out
  I can't act and I'll become a sad
  middle-aged woman who looks a bit like
  someone who was famous for a while.

 Silence... they all look at her... then.

    MAX
  Nah!!!  Nice try, gorgeous -- but you
  don't fool anyone.

 The mood is instantly broken.  They all laugh.

29. Adaptation (2002)
Opening Monologue
Internal dialogues are a bitch.

CHARLIE

[voiceover] Do I have an original thought in my head? My bald head. Maybe if I were happier my hair wouldn't be falling out. Life is short. I need to make the most of it. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I'm a walking cliché. I really need to go to the doctor and have my leg checked. There's something wrong. A bump. The dentist called again. I'm way overdue. If I stop putting things off I would be happier. All I do is sit on my fat ass. If my ass wasn't fat I would be happier. I wouldn't have to wear these shirts with the tails out all the time. Like that's fooling anyone. Fat ass. I should start jogging again. Five miles a day. Really do it this time. Maybe rock climbing. I need to turn my life around. What do I need to do? I need to fall in love. I need to have a girlfriend. I need to read more and prove myself. What if I learned Russian or something, or took up an instrument. I could speak Chinese. I'd be the screenwriter who speaks Chinese and plays the oboe. That would be cool. I should get my hair cut short. Stop trying to fool myself and everyone else into thinking I have a full head of hair. How pathetic is that. Just be real. Confident. Isn't that what women are attracted to? Men don't have to be attractive. But that's not true. Especially these days. Almost as much pressure on men as there is on women these days. Why should I be made to feel I have to apologize for my existence? Maybe it's my brain chemistry. Maybe that's what's wrong with me. Bad chemistry. All my problems and anxiety can be reduced to a chemical imbalance or some kind of misfiring synapses. I need to get help for that. But I'll still be ugly though. Nothing's going to change that.

30. As Good As It Gets (1997)
'Do NOT knock on this door' speech
It's not a subtle point you're making


31. The Breakfast Club (1985)
What'll happen tomorrow?
Behind the stereotypes (and how parents suck.)


32. My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
I Say A Little Prayer For You
Okay technically it's a song. :p


33. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
I'd rather kiss a Wookie!
We can arrange that.


34. Love Actually (2003)
Words on Paper
Awwww!



Next: A Visual Treat