Movie Singalong Scenes October 24, 2008

Inspired by Burt Bacharach on BBCs Electric Proms (seriously, watch the legend that he is on I-Player) I was reminiscing about the movie ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ and how I think that film set the standard for singalong scenes in movies ever since. Who doesn’t want to burst into ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ in a Seafood restaurant?

And so, below I present my favourite singalong scenes - 

My Best Friends Wedding

27 Dresses (this is for you Erin!) 

I can’t help but love this song

And finally, Anchorman (yes, I know I slated it’s place in the top 500 – I stil think it’s a funny film!)

Final Empire Top 500 rant…. (i’m bored of it now) October 24, 2008

And so, having moaned regarding what movies shouldn’t be on this list, I thought I’d comment on some of the movies I’m glad on there (a number of them will probably turn up in a ‘movies i like’ blog some time soon) but deserve to be so much higher.

 

500 – Oceans Eleven

Let’s just put this in perspective. This film was ranked at the bottom of the list, lower than Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Superman Returns, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and 300. This is one of the first DVDs I ever bought and I have happily watched it at least 15 times. Sharp script, killer cast (even Don Cheadle is forgivable for his Burt-from-Mary-Poppins-esque ‘English’ accent) and very clever story telling. 

463 – Juno

This film definitely makes it into my top 10 ever. More than just a ‘cute little indie flick’, the script and cast outshine so many of the crappy blockbusters that have been put above it. 

406 – Iron Man

How is this summer blockbuster almost 100 places lower than Transformers? Downey Jnr rocked this role and it was nice to see it not take itself too seriously.

328 – The Truman Show

Another top 10 film for me, and it’s under 2 hours long – a rarity amongst all these films!

122 – The Princess Bride

This was 10 places lower than Anchorman. I have nothing more to say.

To finish on a positive note though:

8 – Singing In The Rain

Well, I’m actually pleasantly surprised to see this movie so high, with it being my number 1 movie of all time. It’s also the highest ranking musical by about 120 places. So… they got one thing slightly right.

Empire’s 500 Greatest Movies of All Time?!?! Rant Part 2 October 16, 2008

So, here is just a small reflection on some of the many movies that should not be in this top 500, or at least as high as they are - 

475. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Surely the inclusion of this movie negates the entire poll? How can Empire count the votes of those who included this movie in their ‘top films of all time’??? At least it wasn’t the third one, but…. seriously? I can cope with Curse of the Black Pearl being included – Disney struck gold with the combination of Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp and Pirates. But the second one saw Depp become a parody of himself, and any storyline that might have existed overshadowed by ‘comedy’ sketches. 

urgh

453. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Oh dear. Shoddy script, hiding in a fridge, swinging on vines with monkeys and aliens…. yup, this all adds up to the 453rd greatest movie ever. 

337. 300

I refuse to comment.

330. Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith

Sorry Ben (seriously, don’t hate me), but how on earth this can be here? Episode 1 was bearable: Ewan McGregor was cute without all the facial hair he appeared to be attacked by in the last two… 

Only positive thing about seeing this movie was the looks on the faces of the fanboys in the row infront when Chelle cried ‘oh it’s him‘ when Darth was finally revealed at the end. 

128. Lost in Translation

I don’t like this movie. It is pretentious and boring.

113. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

I nearly cried when seeing this so high up the list. It may be Will Ferrel’s finest, but not worthy of a place so close to the top 100. 

 

Please comment! Disagree with my opinions, or feel I’ve missed some seriously overrated film?

Empire’s 500 greatest movies….OF ALL TIME?!?! Rant Part 1 October 14, 2008

Movie polls never tend to work for me. I’m rubbish at making my own (I love too many and too wide a variety I think) and those that get put together by ‘experts’ seem too ‘poncey’ (yup, I said it) and over look the films I love and enjoy. So, when Empire compiled it’s list of the 500 greatest movies ever (voted for by readers, critics and some mysterious movie people) I immediately approached with a sense of cynicism and, having now assessed it, I think quite rightfully. 

Admittedly, readers of a movie magazine are a good place to assess public opinion on the best films out there, but it’s a pretty specific group of people. And, how exactly do you judge what makes the greatest movie ever in the history of the world? I wrote about this a little while ago – how can we all agree what makes a film great? Judging a badly made movie can be agreeable – bad acting, bad script, rubbish camera work etc etc. However, I could quite happily admit to High School Musical having all those things, but I’ll still sit and watch it because I enjoy it.

And so, judging film by ‘quality’ vs ‘entertainment and enjoyment’ (which is essentially what film is… taking away all theory and analysis) immediately makes for opposite opinions. 

It is no suprise that Godfather is no.1 on the list. I know this film is a good film – but, do I enjoy it? No. Nor do I enjoy Goodfellas (no.6), any Tarantino films (no.9, 97, 325 and 423) or horror movies (i.e. Sixth Sense no.332 or Dawn of the Dead no.415). 

Considering this is about the top movies of ALL TIME, is it right that out of 500 movies, 85 of them were released in the past 8 years?

5 were made this year

• Dark Knight (no.15)
• Wall-E (no.373)
• Cloverfield (no.394)
• Iron Man (no.408)
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (no.453)

15 were made last year, and this includes:

• Hot Fuzz (no.374)
• Transformers (no.309)
• The Bourne Ultimatum (no.234)
• Superbad (no.487)
• Juno (no.463)

and then - 

• 11 were released in 2006
• 11 in 2005
• 17 in 2004 (who knew 2004 was so good for movies!?!)
• 8 in 2003
• and 9 in both 2002 and 2001.

These movies are fresh in the mind of the people voting, and are also more likely to have been seen by those voting, rather than perhaps more obscure older movies. This poll doesn’t represent ‘the greatest movies’ but instead may be a good reflection on what are the most watched movies. Yeah, Dark Knight was good – but is it seriously the 15th best movie ever made?

 

Coming up – movies that shouldn’t be there/so high up. 

Tune in tomorrow