Future Classic Movies?

I spent a large proportion of the past Bank Holiday Monday listening to a BBC Radio2 poll ranking their Top 100 Favourite Albums. Basically what they did was take their Top 100 Most Played Albums (limited to one per artist) and asked listeners to rank them. The results were often surprising with a top five consisting of:

1. Coldplay – A Rush Of Blood To The Head
2. Keane – Hopes & Fears
3. Duran Duran – Rio
4. Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon (the only one a lot of people expected)
5. Dido – No Angel

Ahead of what a lot of people expected including in the top five:

The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Queen – A Night At The Opera
Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
Led Zeppelin – Untitled fourth album

One of my thoughts were that different records live longer in the mind and memory, and possibly the heart than others. For example, I bought No Angel when it first came out (before the Eminem sample made it a hit), I listened to it a lot but haven’t listened to it in about five years. I first heard Rumours and Zeppelin’s fourth album when I was a kid and still listen to them all the time and see no reason why I won’t continue to for the foreseeable future. The conclusion, if they re-do this list in fifteen or twenty years time No Angel and A Rush Of Blood To The Head may not make the top 10 or even the top 100, but Rumours, The Dark Side Of The Moon, Sgt Pepper, Born to Run, Bridge Over Troubled Water and countless other classic albums will still be there.

This got me thinking about the current and recent movies that will be heralded as classics in the future and which will be forgotten. Skyfall will be watched a lot and may prove to be the best Bond ever but will be dismissed as just another Bond movie. The Dark Knight Rises will survive as part of, one of the best movie trilogies ever, but possibly the weakest link of the trilogy. The Artist may be considered a gimmick. Stoker, Cloud Atlas, We Need to Talk About Kevin and some great foreign language movies like Amour, Rust and Bone, The Skin I live In and In the House may be too obscure for the masses. Moonrise Kingdom is going to age well as is Argo so could be up there in popular opinion. I can’t make my mind up about Drive and Black Swan but hope I love them as much in years to come as I do now after two or three viewings and hope others feel the same about them. Margin Call and Zero Dark Thirty will possibly stand as testaments to the time but possibly not a time we will want to look back on too often or very fondly.

The conclusion, there hasn’t been a 12 Angry Men, The Godfather, Goodfellas or even Star Wars in recent years, the two closest are probably The Dark Knight and Inception. I’m not saying it is a bad time for film, in fact the opposite, while, the occasional all time classics seem a little few and far between the number of really good movies being made is greater than ever. I just long for a Citizen Kane, The Searchers or Casablanca, we are about due one. Or am I being cynical and some of the movies I have mentioned will find their way to the upper reaches of the IMDB top 250?

Update:

Want to read more on the subject? Check out THIS ARTICLE that picks up the baton from where I left off.

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2nd Annual Groovers Movie Awards

Back for a second year of Groovers Movie awards. As with last year, no nominations, just winners. Ten categories, most of which are the same or similar to those in other awards. The award itself named the “Dom” is modelled after a Dom Pérignon bottle (you need to watch Fandango to understand the relevance) and is a virtual for a second year as Moët haven’t approached offered to sponsor the award.

Best Movie:
Skyfall
Best Director:
Ben Affleck for Argo
Best Actress:
Marion Cotillard for Rust and Bone
Best Actor:
Matthew McConaughey for Killer Joe
Best Screenplay:
Moonrise Kingdom
Best Foreign Language Film:
Rust and Bone
Best Documentary:
Marley – The Imposter got all the plaudits but I found Marley more interesting and enjoyable.
Best Looking Movie:
Life of Pi; An amalgam of many awards including Cinematography, Production Design and Art Direction. Life of Pi wins the award for being the most beautiful looking movie of the year.
Best Ensemble Cast:
The Avengers: last years Movie Stars of the year given to movie stars who had impressed in a variety of movie has been replaced by Best Ensemble Cast, this goes to: Robert Downey Jr. Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Paul Bettany who all played a part in making The Avengers great.
Fandango Award:
Fandango was writer/director Kevin Reynolds debut (and best) feature, and the first notable movie for star Kevin Costner. That is why the Fandango Award goes to someone in a début or breakthrough feature: Gina Carano in Steven Soderbergh’s B movie masterpiece Haywire.

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Top 10 of 2012

1. Skyfall: I wasn’t sure if Sam Mendes would be the right director for Bond, how wrong was I! After seeing a Bond film I have said “that was a great Bond film” on many occasions, its rare to say that’s a great film. That’s why Skyfall makes the top of my list, its simply a great film.
2. The Dark Knight Rises: Both the most intimate and the biggest in scale of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Elevated by great casting particularly Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway. A fitting conclusion to what is possibly the best trilogy ever that like all great movies leaves you wanting more.
3. Argo: A spy story based on real events is going to be a hard sell but Ben Affleck has done it again. As both star and director Affleck has given us a film completely different to but as good as if not even better than his first two films. Tense and funny in equal measure and at the right times, a future classic.
4. Haywire: Possibly the controversial choice on the list certainly the “Marmite” choice on the list. Steven Soderbergh has crafted a B movie with an A list cast held together by Gina Carano, a former cage fighter with no acting experience. The antidote to modern action movies with frenetic editing an too much CGI.
5. The Avengers: Joss Whedon has done the impossible. Bringing a disparate group of characters together to create an exciting and entertaining movie with just the right blend of action and comedy. Making good use of all the characters and giving the franchise a future, its far more than I expected from the movie. And he gave The Hulk the best like of 2012.
6. Killer Joe: William Friedkin’s tale of murder set around a dysfunctional Texas family is often violent and repugnant, but it is also brilliant mainly because of a star turn from a resurgent Matthew McConaughey.
7. Moonrise Kingdom: Wes Anderson has turned his unique quirky bittersweet eye on a coming of age drama. It is as funny as you would expect from Anderson, but it is more engaging and endearing thanks to fantastic performances from both the recognisable established actors and the unknown kids.
8. Life of Pi: I was a little sceptical about seeing this movie, I had heard it was a bit preachy and how interesting can a film about a boy in a boat be? I also hate 3D. I shouldn’t have worried, as previous mentioned; the 3D is the best I have ever seen, the story is great as well as being stunning to look at.
9. Rust and Bone: Jacques Audiard follows up A Prophet with a bruising and brutal melodrama. Marion Cotillard is as great as ever as is her co star Matthias Schoenaerts. Sometimes oppressive and hard to watch, at others uplifting but always emotional. A film that needs to find a worldwide audience.
10. End of Watch: Written and directed by David Ayer,. Made up of little snippets of the daily life of a pair a of cops (perfectly cast Jake Gylleenhaal and Michael Pena) working one of the roughest beats in South Central LA. A tough, brutal and believable cop film like nothing that has been made in a generation.

A note on my selection: I have only included movies from this year. 2011 movies that didn’t reach the UK until this year have been excluded. I will probably do a redux version when I have seen all the 2013 movies in early 2013.

Don’t forget, this isn’t a best of 2012 list, it is it is simply my favourite 10 of the year. So don’t tell me the list is wrong but feel free to share your favourite films of the year.

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Movie of the Month: November 2012

The Contenders are: 

Argo – A spy story based on real events following the storming of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Ben Affleck has done it again, as both star and director he has given us a film completely different to but as good as if not even better than his first two films. Tense and funny in equal measure and at the right times, a future classic.

Rust and Bone – Jacques Audiard follows up A Prophet with a bruising and brutal melodrama. Marion Cotillard is as great as ever as is her co star Matthias Schoenaerts. Sometimes oppressive and hard to watch, at others uplifting but always emotional. A film that needs to find a worldwide audience.

The Sapphires – Pitched as Good, Morning Vietnam meets The Commitments, its probably a fair comparison. Loosely based on real events. A heavy drinking Irish cruise ship entertainer (Chris O’Dowd) finds himself in the middle of nowhere in Australian until he hooks up with an Aboriginal girl group. They soon find them selves entertaining American troops in Vietnam. A likeable cast and some great music make for an entertaining film.

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 – More of the same from the glittery vampires. Fans of the series will love it, detractors won’t see it. It isn’t the best of the series but its far from the worse.

The Master – Paul Thomas Anderson’s character study of people involved in a religion, cult or possibly religious cult that may or may not be based on L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology. The film looks nothing short of amazing and the performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams are all sensational. The film does lack a plot, this will bother some people not others. I like it but don’t love it.

End of Watch – Written and directed by David Ayer,. Made up of little snippets of the daily life of a pair a of cops (perfectly cast Jake Gylleenhaal and Michael Pena) working one of the roughest beats in South Central LA. Director of The French Connection William Friedkin describes said of twitter “End of Watch is a great film…may be the best cop film ever”.

Gambit – Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz and Alan Rickman star in a remake of the Michael Caine, Shirley MacLaine and Herbert Lom comedy crime caper. Lightweight and not clever enough to be a classic crime caper or funny enough to be a great farce but it is still entertaining and fun.

Silver Linings Playbook – Shortly after being released from a mental institution for beating up his wife’s lover Pat (Bradley Cooper) meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) a damaged and disturbed young woman whose husband has recently been killed. After a string of crapy comedies Robert De Niro is on really good form but the star of the film is Jennifer Lawrence who electrifies the screen every time she is on it.

The best film I saw in November was probably Skyfall, that I went back to see a second time but a close second was a more believable spy film:

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Movie of the Month: October 2012

A little late as I have been too busy watching movies to write about them. A busy and varied month that features two movies sure to make it to my top ten of the year.

Untouchable: Clichéd, predictable and sentimental, all these things are true, but it is also honest, endearing, touching and very funny. The acting is also first rate.

Looper: Better than the film the trailer would portrayed but not as good as some reviews would have you believe.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Angst filled coming of age drama elevated by the performances of a great young cast.

Liberal Arts: The mixture of a precocious nineteen year old girl and an a 30 something man going through early onset midlife crisis make for an interesting if lightweight movie. Once again Elizabeth Olsen shines.

On the Road: A faithful adaptation of a near un-filmable book. It works on many levels, particularly the great young cast and the stunning photography but it fails to capture the spirit of the source novel.

Taken 2: A Sequel that is a cynical attempt to cash in on an average but profitable movie.

Ruby Sparks: A high concept but quirky romantic comedy that manages to hit all the right notes. Zoe Kazan has proved herself as good a screenwriter as she is as an actress.

Frankenweenie: Tim Burton’s stop motion animated comedy-horror is a return to form for a director who previously appeared to be losing his way. Not only is it a touching drama but also a fun nod to classic horror movies.

Beasts Of The Southern Wild: Stunningly shot fantasy that at its best may be metaphor for the environment and the way we treat it. It is however an esoteric mess of a film that while good, I fail to recognise the greatness others see in it.

Skyfall: I wasn’t sure if Sam Mendes would be the right director for Bond, there was no need to worry, he has crafted what isn’t just a great Bond film, it’s a great film.

I have also seen previews of Rust and Bone and Argo that will be in contention for the November movie of the month. And, The Shining A special Halloween screening of Stanley Kubrick’s classic horror showing in the longer American cut that is longer than versions I have previously seen. It is as great as ever.

Sometimes I deliberate for ages and change my mind over the movie of the month, as much as I loved some of the movies this month, there was only one real contender, the Movie of the Month is:

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