Lionsgate have acquired the US distribution rights to FilmNation’s All is Lost at the European Film Market in Berlin.

Set to be directed by J.C. Chandor (Margin Call), All is Lost is the exhilarating journey of one man’s fight to survive after being lost at see.

Robert Redford (Lions for Lambs) is attached to play the lead role.

All is Lost is set to begin shooting in May at the Baja Studios in Rosarita Beach, Mexico.

Redford will next be seen in The Company You Keep, opposite Shia LaBeouf (Wettest County) and Julie Christie (Finding Neverland).

Source: Variety

While you may have heard of the more prestigious film festivals such as Cannes and BFI London Film Festival it is with the launch of Sundance London next year, Charlie Derry investigates into whether lesser known festivals are in need of more recognition, and how organisers plan to deal with this competition.

There are many international film festivals held each year worldwide, with the world’s oldest continually running festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, currently going into its 66th year. But what about more recently established festivals? Or festivals that have a smaller, more focused, audience? How do these festivals get recognition amongst the ever-expanding crowd?

Sundance London is a collaboration of both film and music, and is set to debut on 26th April, 2012 at the O2 Arena. The annual Sundance Film Festival (SFF) is the largest showcase for indie films in the US. Sundance Institute executive director Keri Putnam said the organisation looks forward to bringing “the most exciting American films from the 2012 Sundance Film Festival” to London.

Robert Redford, founder of SFF, is opening the launch of the festival, but in 2009 he commented that there were already too many film festivals, telling Reuters that, “When we started there was very little out there; now, there’s a lot. My feeling is when the day comes when we’re no longer providing the mission we started with…then we shouldn’t be here, and we won’t. As long as we continue to create new advantages, we will continue.”

So what’s continuing this growth of film festivals? One main advantage that new festivals can bring is a focus on a specific audience, such as a certain genre or a type of multimedia. Sydney Underground Film Festival (SUFF), an annual film festival held in Australia, is one of them.

SUFF celebrates independent, experimental, provocative and daring films from around the world. Festival Director Stefan Popescu says, “We screen films other festivals would never dare screen – and we are proud of it. We love depravity, gore, debauchery, experimentation, sexual perversion, anarchy and dissent. We love to be challenged and we love to challenge. Our audience knows that cinema should be adventurous not safe.”

Nevertheless, whilst individuality is a great key to success in the film festival industry, it can also create problems. “We would love to be recognised by the arts/film councils over in Australia,” says Popescu, “But unfortunately I can’t imagine that arts administrators, who are bound by policy and have particular aesthetic inclinations, will ever find themselves them being able to justify funding subversion, difference, experimentation, sedition, anarchy, debauchery and dissent.”

Launched in 2007, SUFF is soon to start touring nationally which will help the festival get more exposure and promote cinematic and cultural difference on a larger scale. Popescu adds that the festival wants more recognition to grow and sustain a community of cinematic adventurers in Sydney, and that, “It is very important for the sustainability and expansion of a grass-roots endeavour like our festival.”

Another factor that can help a festival gain recognition is to secure the premiere of a highly acclaimed film. Last week the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) hosted the premiere of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which stars Tom Cruise in the fourth instalment to the popular action franchise. But how does a festival acquire such a big name to its event? Ghost Protocol is debuting as the opening film at DIFF after an extensive portion of the film was filmed in Dubai, including a scene where Tom Cruise scales down the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

“The filmmakers and Paramount Pictures felt the city was an ideal premiere for the film. They will also be junketing the world’s press here and it makes for an interesting and different venue for the media,” says DIFF’s Press and Publicity Manager, Chris Paton.

Mumbai Film Festival (MFF) also premiered one of 2011’s popular films with Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt, in October, with organisers hoping to raise the profile of their event and bring it on par with other festivals.

Festival Director Srinivasan Naraya believes that MFF’s best attribute is the quality of films, but went on to say that, “We need to take the festival to the next level, to create a platform for the business of films in this country – especially art house films.”

“The profile of the festival goes up depending on the quality of film selections, participation by the film community and efficient organisation,” he continued. “We have already started working on new elements to give a distinct quality to the Mumbai Film Festival.”

Consequently recognition is important, but as Public Relations representative at Action on Film Festival (AoF), Nick Covington, says, “Every live event, film festival, concert, film, etc. requires constant and ongoing recognition.”

To do this, AoF is the only festival that produces a weekly television series, The AOF Channel, which airs on NBC Los Angeles.

“We understand the unique position that filmmakers are in,” added Covington. “Especially when you see that they are up against a changing landscape with regards to distribution, formats, shooting styles, equipment, competition and the internet, which has really levelled the playing field for exposure.”

AoF is now one of the biggest and fastest growing festivals and was recently named one of the ‘Top 25 Festivals Worth the Fees’ by MovieMaker Magazine.

However, whilst film festivals may need more recognition, the competition is not with other festivals; it is with themselves. As Festival Director of Oaxaca International Independent Film and Video Festival in Mexico, Ramiz Adeeb Azar, told us, “I think on the surface many people believe that there are too many film festivals around the world or in certain regions, but I do not believe so. The more festivals there are the better the film festival industry becomes.”

For that reason, if you can, get yourself to one of your local film festivals next year in support of your community of film makers. With so many around, there’s sure to be one on your doorstep.

At first glance, Moneyball will ignite interest among Brad Pitt fans. On second glance, it will turn some away because of its baseball subject matter. Sports films are an acquired taste and will never fully convert those who are not into the sport in question. Therefore, as one of the latter, Moneyball is a real eye opener, and not because it suddenly stirs a dormant interest in the sport, but because the baseball could be argued as being the parallel theme to the overriding one of the ‘little guy’ taking on and shaking up the system from within. In this sense, there is something to be gained from it.

It’s based on the true story of Billy Beane (Pitt), the once would-be baseball superstar who still hurts from his failure to live up to expectations on the field and turns to baseball management. It’s nearly the start of 2002 season, and Billy’s small-market Oakland Athletics (the A’s) have lost their star players to the bigger, wealthier clubs. Billy must rebuild the team and compete on a third of the payroll. He discovers and hires whizzkid, Yale-educated economist Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) who believes in Bill James’ computer-driven statistical analysis to win games, previously ignored by the baseball establishment. Together they challenge the old baseball guard by installing overlooked or dismissed baseball players, based on a combination of key skills, and begin winning several games in a row.

Moneyball plays out much like any other baseball film but with a couple of narrative twists. Even though you don’t necessarily need to know anything about baseball, naturally, Moneyball will have a greater impact on someone who does possess the historical and factual elements of the game. It’s essentially an inspirational David verses Goliath film, a topical corporate shakedown story that anyone can relate to in this day and age, and it’s all down to the Pitt-Hill chemistry that keeps you engaged.

As co-producer and star, Pitt takes on by far his biggest film challenge yet with Beane and shaping this story to appeal to a wide-ranging audience. He is as courageous as his dynamic and daring character that’s the film’s driving tour de force. Pitt is strikingly reminiscent of a younger Redford and his gutsy turn in the 1984 baseball film, The Natural. Everything really hinges on Beane’s actions and reactions that keep things scintillating to watch, with Hill as Brand as the ‘voice of reason’ in the corner in a straighter stance, much like his character Cyrus in the 2010 film. In fact, Hill again demonstrates that taking on the straighter-laced roles where he can diffuse the tense with intelligent, deadpan humour input is his true acting forte.

Thankfully, Pitt’s infectious energy transcends the wordy baseball mumbo jumbo, and the passion that all involved feels for the game shines through. Part of this is the sense that both you and the characters are venturing into the unknown and want to see change in an unbalanced system. The script glosses over the ones and zeros and endless charts of the analysis and manages to make a coherent narrative out of Michael Lewis’ complex book “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game”. Again, this is down to the winning onscreen team of Pitt and Hill, but more so because of award-winning The Social Network writer Aaron Sorkin being part of the scriptwriting team.

Capote director Bennett Miller turns to his muse, Philip Seymour Hoffman, to portray the stubborn face of the old system by casting the actor as Art Howe, the A’s team coach. Although against the statistical invasion of the game, Howe is delivered a chance to know what it feels like to succeed against all adversity, with the A’s winning 20 games in a row, which broke an actual AL record in 2002. As an underdog himself with little say in his team’s makeup, Howe begins to appreciate how the ‘misfit toys’ – as the players are called – can have their glory, and it’s spiritually uplifting to watch.

Thankfully, Miller does not take the conventional, backslapping route at the end, and throws up a few satisfying surprises where his lead character is involved. Sadly, the system wins, which admittedly does have the sense of defeated purpose. However, Moneyball has to be taken as one of those films where the journey is more important than the end result, and it’s one of guts, determination and sporadic humour. Full credit to Pitt, too, for creating an ingenious and unorthodox career-defining role for himself at this stage in his varied career.

***½~ (3.5/5)

On 14th April 1865, John Wilkes Booth walked up behind Abraham Lincoln in his box at Ford’s Theatre and shot him. As this film’s tagline testifies however, although one man shot Lincoln, more than one man killed him. Booth and his accomplices were pursued and for the most part found and arrested, though Booth himself was shot rather than being brought in to stand trial. Booth and many of his co-conspirators met on occasion before the assassination at a guest house owned and run by Mary Surratt (Robin Wright). Her son John is nowhere to be found and so she is tried by a military court as a conspirator in the assassination. Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy), a lawyer and soldier who fought for the Union in the US Civil War is assigned to Mary’s defence and despite his initial reluctance to defend her, eventually comes to see the unconstitutional manner in which the trial is being conducted and resolves to defend Mary to the best of his ability.

*****

Despite the seemingly hint-laden title, this film is not really about conspiracies or outlandish conspiracy theories at all. There are none of the JFK-style attempts to peel back the layers of corruption and complicity, rather a fairly straight telling of an altogether compelling story about justice, the rule of law and the US constitution, with a clear and no doubt utterly intentional resonance with recent events in relation to terror-suspects, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. As the conflicted defence attorney, James McAvoy does an excellent job of transitioning through the gears from disgust and indifference, through vehemence and indignation to desperation and even heroism. He quickly realises that whatever Mary Surratt might or might not be guilty of, she deserves but is patently not receiving a fair trial. His antipathy towards her grows convincingly into staunch advocacy for her rights, picking holes in contradictory and unconvincing prosecution evidence, despite his objections and best efforts being thwarted at every turn by the ridiculously biased (but no doubt historically accurate) David Hunter, who presided over the trial of a civilian in full military regalia.

At one point, driven incandescent with frustration at the injustice of the proceedings, Aiken bellows at the court, “it’s not enough is it?” Every witness has been cajoled, threatened and intimidated, every objection by him dismissed, every objection by the prosecutor upheld. It is to McAvoy’s credit that it does not feel like an explosion out of nothing, rather a simmering fury that builds to the point of eruption.

Kevin Kline and Tom Wilkinson make welcome appearances as Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and US Senator Reverdy Johnson respectively, butting heads constantly over the importance of a fair trial versus the crucial point of maintaining the peace and the fragile integrity of the only-just United States. As Stanton says (and with particular post-9/11 resonance), “the world has changed”, to which Johnson retorts, “but the Constitution must not be sacrificed”. Director Robert Redford subtly, but deftly draws attention to the manifold ways in which civil liberties and constitutional principles have been sacrificed on the altar of the “war on terror” and how our desperation to preserve our way of life can cause us to cast aside some of our hitherto most cherished principles. Stanton is not cast as the villain of the piece by any means – the film wisely portrays its various characters in realistic shades of grey – showing him instead to be a desperate and driven man, but not a malevolent one, merely as conflicted and flawed as any of us.

As the many excellent features show, a lot of care and thought has gone into recreating the era of the trial, with lighting, street scenes, clothing and cityscapes all thoroughly up to scratch. Redford was clearly operating on a modest budget, but the film never looks or feels cheap or half-baked. Instead, something fascinating, informative, intellectually stimulating and politically relevant and resonant has been crafted and it is a considerable shame that the film found less of an audience ($11.5m in the US to date against a $25m budget) and received less of a warm critical reception when it first hit the screens (at least here in the UK) that it seems to have deserved.

Despite the grand, sweeping themes, the running time is relatively tight, coming in at just under two hours (though a few more minutes off that would have helped the film feel a little brisker) and as alluded to earlier, the parallels drawn within James D Solomon and Gregory Bernstein’s script between the events portrayed and those of the past decade are tactfully handled rather than being hammered home.

This is well worth a watch and perhaps is better suited to and will find more of a home on the small(er) screen. You can buy it on DVD or Bluray here.

****~ (4/5)

Extras:

• Short featurettes by the American Film Society titled “Witness History” on everything from production design, to the defendant’s Catholic beliefs, costume design, props, military trials and a couple of the main characters from the story. Informative.
• Making Of Documentary with contributions from Robert Redford. Brief but interesting
• Director’s Commentary. At times Redford has much to say about the quality of the cast, the apparent ease with which British actors find US accents and the challenges of creating an authentic period feel for the film. At other times he falls silent for minutes at a time when it would be nice to hear a bit more from him. Perhaps a two- or three-hander would have helped fill that empty space a little?
• Photo Gallery

**½~~ (2.5/5)

Additional Bluray Extras (not available for review)

• Picture-in-Picture commentary
• Plot to kill Lincoln documentary
• Theatrical Trailer

Robert Redford’s Lincoln assassination drama The Conspirator is out on DVD and Blu-ray on the 24th of October and we’ve been given a clip from the film to share with you.

Redford has assembled an excellent cast for the film, which had a decent, if a little short lived, theatrical release earlier in the year and the extras on the home entertainment formats include a commentary from the director as well as some historical accompaniaments to give you a little of the back story to the film.

James McAvoy​ and Robin Wright lead the cast, telling a story of the fallout of the assassinatin of Abraham Lincoln. Justin Long​, Evan Rachel Wood , Tom Wilkinson , Alexis Bledel , Johnny Simmons, Toby Kebbell , Kevin Kline and Danny Huston​ are in support.

Here’s a synopsis to further advise,

In the wake of Abraham Lincoln ’s assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice-President, and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Wright), 42, owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt: her own son, John (Simmons).

Here’s the clip, check back tomorrow for our review of the film.

To mark the release of The Conspirator on DVD and Blu-ray 24th October, Universal Studios have given us five copies of the movie to give away on DVD. The ovie stars James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Justin Long, Danny Huston, Evan Rachel Wood and is directed by Robert Redford.

Esteemed British actor and Golden Globe® nominee* James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class) leads a stellar cast including Kevin Kline (Wild Wild West) Robin Wright (Unbreakable) and Tom Wilkinson (Shakespeare in Love)in Robert Redford’s compelling drama. Based on the true story and dramatic real life trial of those accused of the assassination of US President Abraham Lincoln, audiences will be gripped by this fascinating and tragic period in American history.

Stunning cinematography and a haunting score are amplified by state-of-the-art Blu-ray^™ and DVD technology which evoke the steely atmosphere of the American courtroom in 1865 perfectly.

McAvoy stars as Fred Aiken, an eager, newly qualified Yankee lawyer in this dramatic film, set within the ominous backdrop of post Civil War Washington. Aiken is convinced by his mentor Reverdy Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) to act as defense lawyer for Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), the only female accused of being involved in Lincoln’s assassination, and the focus of a tense struggle between justice and duty.

The Conspirator features incredible bonus content which will transport you back to 1865 America, including an audio commentary from Robert Redford himself, a behind-the-scenes making-of feature and a series of specially created ‘Witness History’ featurettes, which give an in-depth insight into this fascinating story – from both in front of and behind the cameras. The Blu-ray^™ also features an absorbing 66 minute featurette on the plot to kill President Abraham Lincoln.

Capturing the tone and mood of the era wonderfully, The Conspirator will provoke you to consider the fragility of human rights in desperate circumstances.

To be in with a chance of winning the movie on DVD, simply answer the following question using the form below:

Who directed the movie, The Conspirator?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 24th October at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

Film ©2010 Universal Studios.  All Rights Reserved.

The internet is a wonderful thing, and every day something new appears which proves this to be so.

Recently World of Wonder  (via Boy Culture) happened upon a recent batch of videos uploaded to YouTube that are unlikely to have been seen by many in the forty six years since they were shot in and around Hollywood in the Summer of 1965.

The uploader states that these videos were given to personally by Roddy McDowall, who shot these silent films in and around Hollywood and his house on Mailbu Beach. It’s an intriguing, if a touch voyeuristic, look at the movie stars of the day just hanging out as well as the landscape of Hollywood itself.

It is certainly strange to see David O. Selznick pouring over a crossword or Ed Wynn enjoying the sunset next to the remains of a house which has fallen down the Hollywood hills but there’s so much here to explore and it is the everyday Hollywood that is fascinating. There’s  Jane Fonda and Julie Andrews lying in the sun while Lauren Bacall, Paul Newman and Natalie Wood play up to McDowall’s camera. There’s a young Anthony Perkins, five years on from Psycho, looking a little like Andrew Garfield and so much more.

Another video which captivated me was the home-movie McDowall made while filming Inside Daisy Clover with Robert Redford and Natalie Wood – it is as far removed from the usual Behind the Scenes documentaries we see as DVD extras as possible and it begs the question – what else is he going to upload?

I haven’t gone through them all yet and there are too many to post here, so here are a few which tickled me. If this is your bag then do click through to the user’s upload page where there’s a lot more where these came from.

The Beef has insisted that he is done with box-office dominating, female-body ogling, critic-proof franchise Transformers and so, as all actors must, he will be considering where next?

Apparently, he is to team up with Robert Redford, who will do his usual multi-hyphenate job as producer-director-star of “The Company You Keep”, working from the Lem Dobbs-penned script about a young, ambitious reporter (LaBeouf) who in his desperation to make a name for himself attempts to track down a former political militant who the FBI have been after for 30-odd years. Guess who’ll play the militant? Yep.

The source material is a novel by Neil Gordon and Redford’s production company are now looking to secure a distribution deal for the picture, which should start shooting in the autumn. This isn’t the first time that Redford has teamed up with a younger buck, having worked with Brad Pitt on Spy Game some years ago. Presumably this pairing would hope to draw on both the younger-audience appeal of the Beef and the natural gravitas of Redford himself.

Given Redford’s own political proclivities, it seems likely that the film will lean into the political ideology and context of Redford’s character. Whether this will result in the film getting bogged down in the sort of preachy tone that plagued Lions for Lambs, it is hard to tell, but hopefully a political message can be delivered, while still retaining the beating heart of a thriller. More on this, as always, as we get it.

Source: Deadline

Robert Redford’s Lincoln assassination drama The Conspirator is now out in the UK, although without a huge amount of fanfare so let’s get everyone in the mood with a new poster, shall we?

We’ve seen a few images and had ourselves a trailer and anything with James McAvoy will stir a certain section of the UK audience and there’s a decent cast with Robin Wright, Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood , Tom Wilkinson , Alexis Bledel , Johnny Simmons, Toby Kebbell , Kevin Kline and Danny Huston alongside McAvoy.

In the wake of Abraham Lincoln ’s assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice-President, and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Wright), 42, owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt: her own son, John (Simmons).

Here’s your poster,

Start clapping like impressed sea-lions at the people from IMPA

Although not the focus of the article – the actual subject of which pales into insignificance – The LA Times have reported that Robert Redford may soon join Nick Nolte for a Walk in the Woods.

Redford has been involved in the project for some time – having been tying to set it up since 2005 – the film being an adaptation of Bill Bryson’s amusing travel book of the same name.

A Walk in the Woods charts Bryson’s attempted completion of Eastern America’s Appalachian Trail, a hiking route which extends between Georgia and Maine. Joined by an old friend – the overweight, recovering alcoholic Stephen Katz – the due make incredibly poor progress as they skip large parts of the trail and eventually give up having walked just (how can I say just?) 500 of the trail’s 2,181 miles.

Interspersed with discussion of the trails history and ecology – and littered with a vast array of memorable characters (not least among them, the slow-minded, Little Debby loving Mary Ellen) – A Walk In The Woods is an often painfully funny piece of anecdotal travel writing.

With Chris Columbus once on board, the last director attached to the project was Barry Levinson – though it remains unclear if Levinson still has plans to direct.

Could The Sundance Institute be on the way to becoming a global brand?

It’s being reported that founder Robert Redford is planning on bringing over his famed Sundance Film Festival (first launched in 1978) to the UK, and that he will team up with AEG Europe to stage Sundance London – a four-day event that will be hosted in at The O2, South-East London’s state-of-the-art concert arena.

The event will include screenings of titles from the 2012 Sundance Film Festival (which occurs three months before this new outlet) live music performances and film panels.

Redford has proved to be very savvy in the past with opening up the world of indie film, and given the current state of uncertainty the industry is in, doing something like this is essential in ensuring longevity. He had this to say about his plans:

“It is our mutual goal to bring to the U.K., the very best in current American independent cinema, to introduce the artists responsible for it, and in essence help build a picture of our country that is broadly reflective of the diversity of voices not always seen in our cultural exports.”

The first of (hopefully) many overseas incarnations of Sundance will be held next year from the 26th – 29th of April. We’ll keep you posted when we hear of any further development in his exciting cross-cultural plan and when tickets info is available.

News via The Hollywood Reporter

Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions, via Yahoo! Movies, have released the first official trailer for political thriller The Conspirator.

Directed by Robert Redford, The Conspirator stars Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Tom Wilkinson, Alexis Bledel, Johnny Simmons, Toby Kebbell, Kevin Kline and Danny Huston.

In the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice-President, and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Wright), 42, owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt: her own son, John (Simmons).

The Conspirator will be released in the US in April. A UK release date is not yet known.

Running from September 9th to 19th, Toronto’s annual film festival appears to have assembled an interesting mix of both studio and independent features in their programme this year.

Now in its 34 year, the festival will show The Town, Ben Affleck’s follow-up to his acclaimed 2007 debut Gone Baby Gone as part of the Gala screening group, alongside Robert Redford’s film on the aftermath of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, The Conspirator.

Darren Aronofsky’s latest Black Swan is another scheduled for the Gala, a week after it officially opens the Venice Film Festival.

Nice to see our own Mike Leigh and Stephen Frears over there (with Another Year and Tamara Drewe, respectively), films which garnered generally favoured reviews back in May at Cannes.

The official Toronto International Film Festival website has a full list of the films showing.

The IMDb250. A list of the top 250 films, as ranked by the users of the biggest movie Internet site on the web. It is based upon the ratings provided by the users of The Internet Movie Database, which number into the millions. As such, it’s a perfect representation of the opinions of the movie masses, and arguably the most comprehensive ranking system on the Internet.

It’s because of this that we at HeyUGuys (and in this case, we, is myself and Barry) have decided to set ourselves a project. To watch and review all 250 movies on the list! We’ve frozen the list as of 1st January this year. It’s not as simple as it sounds, as we’ll be watching them in one year, 125 each.

This is our sixth update and my next five films from the list. I have to say that one film in particular from this five has completely blown me away and cemented itself in my top five films of all time, the film is 12 Angry Men which I will talk about more later but it’s the first film from the list so far that just had everything I want from a film and I just can’t believe I’ve never seen it before. On the flip side I also watched a film that is probably going to be the worst film I’ll watch from the list.

Out of my first 15 films, 7 have been in glorious Black and White and I have now truly fallen in love with the Black & White movie, I have already started to add to my personal collection with these classic movies and have slightly fallen out of love with CGI heavy films which has definitely affected my interest in seeing recent films like Alice in Wonderland but I doubt that feeling will last for long.

For me personally I’m now looking at movies in a completely different way and I am only 15 movies into our project. I have never experienced such a variety of movies in a short space of time and It has opened my eyes to directors and movies I probably never would have explored before. I’m now a huge fan of Chaplin, I’m hunting lesser known Kubrick films and expanding my collection of Hitchcock movies, all because of this fantastic experience.

I really hope readers of these articles can also gain something from the project and attempt to watch some films they may never have had interest in before and please let us know what you think of the films we review, especially if you disagree.

On to my next five films starting with:

No.99 – The Sting – Rating 8.3

The Sting is a film I don’t recall ever seeing but a film that seemed instantly recognizable when watching it as The Sting just oozed class from start to finish with a stunning cast, superb production and a story that was just wonderfully enjoyable from this iconic movie.

Staring Paul Newman and Robert Redford as confidence men working 1930′s Chicago with Newman playing Henry Gondoroff the older mentor con artist who takes on a role of mentoring Johnny Hooker played by Redford a bright eager younger man who wants to do the Big Con to get revenge for the death of his con partner. The two team up an hatch up a plan to do a very complicated con against New York Racketeer Doyle Lonnegan (the brilliant Robert Shaw) which is brilliant in its build up and conclusion that twists and turns and keeps you gripped whilst charming you with its brilliantly performed script.

The set pieces building up the con are fantastic with a superb card game on a train and the construction of a fake bookies to set the scene for the con target that is just fantastically realised and carried out and you cant help be sucked in by the con as it plays out in the ingenious story with numerous characters all playing a part. There are other subplots with a mysterious guy seeming to follow Johnny killing people, a love interest to Johnny that has an unknown agenda and a corrupt cop (the legendary Charles Durning) who after being conned by Johnny himself is after some revenge, all add to the brilliant movie.

The Sting is one of those classic movies you just have to see, it’s not one of my all time favourite movies ever but should be definitely be viewed before you die.

No.50 – Paths Of Glory – Rating 8.4

Paths of Glory is another film I’ve never seen before or heard much about (What rock have I been living under), It’s a film that I have never seen mentioned in other top film lists or a film I have heard others mention when talking about Stanley Kubrick movies which is incredible considering the unbelievable quality of Paths Of Glory.

Kirk Douglas stars as Colonel Dax a well respected and decorated soldier of the French Army, probably in my favourite role of Douglas’s career, who During World War One leads a group of French soldiers who refuse to continue an impossible attack that would result in certain death. With their own careers on the line their superiors choose to make an example of them by putting three solders on trial for their lives. Colonel Dax chooses to defend the men in court but has to compete with the hopeless bias of the court and the determination of General Mireau (George Macready).

The story is just incredible, starting off by setting up relationships between certain key characters in an attempted scouting mission into no mans land where a drunken Lieutenant kills a colleague with a grenade in cowardice and flees leaving Corporal Paris a witness to the event which later leads him being one of the chosen to be put on trial to cover the Lieutenant’s blunder. This is followed by a memorable storm of the German stronghold over no man’s land led by Colonel Dax that is doomed to failure but so visually stunning as Dax urges his troops on leading by example and blowing his whistle that rings out amidst the explosions and gun fire.

Being overwhelmed by the enemy forces a majority of the troops fail to leave the trenches and others are in retreat, this news gets to General Mireau he issues the order to fire upon his own troops to get them out of the trenches with the order being refused which leads the General to request the execution of the three soldiers which leads us into the court room drama of trying to save these men’s lives with Dax valiantly fighting their cases. It’s a bleak and horrible last third watching the men suffer through the one sided trial and even more horrific knowing that this event is based on an actual occurrence, which is why it was banned in France for almost 20 years.

The film just blew me away, the story of different classes in the military was well told and the feeling of anger and frustration as the trial unfolded was captivating and emotionally upsetting as it reaches its conclusion. Considering the film is based on the French army and characters the dialogue was spoken in English/American language ,which was probably due to Kirk Douglas’s involvement, removes a little authenticity to the punch of the film. However nothing can be taken away from one of the finest films I’ve seen in years.

No.143 – Yojimbo – Rating 8.1

Akira Kurosawa is an absolute legend of film making and Toshiro Mifune is one of the coolest and most enjoyable actors to see on screen and with the pair making 16 films together, Yojimbo is easily Mifune’s finest display.

Yojimbo is a wonderful story of a mysterious ronin wanderer who cleans up a corrupt small town by playing two rival gangs against each other. The excellent story undoubtedly inspired Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars, Last Man Standing by Walter Hill and Takashi Miike’s Sukiyaki Django proving what an influential timeless classic Yojimbo is and will always be.

The character of the nameless Samurai for hire is easily one of greatest characters of all time and there is nothing more enjoyable to watch as he enters the desolate town gathering the lay of the land from the local tavern owner and watching the two gangs at work. The suave and extremely cool swordsman decides to clean up the town by manipulating the two gangs into wiping each other out. Both gangs aspire to hire the Samurai for their side and both fail to see his plan as they both self destruct falling for his tricks.

A potential stumbling block does arrive in the brother of the leader of one of the gangs who carries a gun who proves to be a different challenge to the Bushido rule following Yojimbo played by the actor Tatsuya Nakadai who later became Kurosawa’s actor of choice following a well publicised fallout with Mifune, Nakadai stars in another film from our IMDb project in Kurosawa’s Ran.

I can’t praise this film enough, the look and feel is outstanding, the story is immensely enjoyable and watching Mifune perform at his best is something not to be missed and of course Akira Kurosawa is just a genius and without doubt a true legend and deservedly cemented in the IMDb250 list for all time.

No.8 – 12 Angry Men – Rating 8.8

WOW! what a film, seriously I doubt there is a film on the our list that will affect me like 12 Angry Men did. It’s one of those all time classic films, and I doubt many other films can illustrate the power of a strong script and flawless acting better than Sidney Lumet’s 1957 movie that has cemented itself in my film collection and in my head for all time.

It’s a film without breathtaking visuals, with no fancy editing and no special effects it’s just twelve men who are jurors on a murder case retiring to make their decision on an apparent straight forward guilty case. It takes place on a hot stuffy afternoon in a single room, where the 12 men debate the guilt or otherwise, of an 18-year-old boy when one of the jurors state Not Guilty when they all vote.

Reginald Rose’s perfect script which he adapted from his own play is what makes the film a stunning joy to watch and take in as you feel part of the jury being explained the details of having reasonable doubt of the murder. The superb acting from the entire cast is just sublime and to script roles that flesh out each character and give them a unique personality is key to the film working so well. Made by Sydney Lumet, who has two other films on our list, it’s brilliantly directed with its understated shots and with the entire cast of Fonda, Lee J Cobb and Jack Klugman in particular all making it so memorable it just has to be seen.

What I loved is that you see a brief glimpse of the accused at the start of the film, he looks like a criminal and is slightly strange looking, and you know absolutely nothing about the trial except that it’s a murder case leaving you without any knowledge to have already made an opinion of the trial, It’s a wonderful way to enter the film and as each piece of evidence is scrutinised by Juror No.8, played by Henry Fonda, you start to fall in love with the film as each Juror gradually starts to have doubts on their original verdict and for me I just got immersed into the story and would gladly have watched it for another 91 minutes.

Easily the finest film I’ve seen from the list and I doubt I will watch another film from the list that will effect or impress me more. A true classic and in my opinion proabably deserves to be No.1.

No.237 – Mulholland Drive – Rating 7.9

Why in the hell is this film on the list of the 250 best films of all time??? I get the film, it’s a clever little movie that on second viewing subtly gives away a lot of clues of what is going on but seriously for me it was one of the biggest piles of crap I’ve watched in ages.

I’m no fan of David Lynch, I kind of liked Blue Velvet and I have fond memories of Dune and of course there was Twin Peaks which was a confusing mess at the best of times but I really couldn’t give a dam about the rest of his films. There is no doubt that Lynch is one of the most visually talented Directors on the planet but it really can only appeal to a limited audience. I think the problem for me is that I could not be bothered to analyse the multiple layers of the film to understand the subtext of the story as I was just so confused to what was happening and further more I just didn’t care.

The story was at times so difficult to follow and took so much to work out that I just lost interest, it’s a film that will never appeal to a wide audience and although I appreciate that Lynch is trying to do something different and stylised I really don’t have a taste for it and never will. A shocking movie and the only top ten film list it would appear in for me would be the most overated and bloody annoying movies of all time.

My shortest review and probably easiest to write.

That concludes my five films. See you next week for Bazmann’s next five movies.

Don’t forget you can follow our progress at http://twitter.com/baz_mannand http://twitter.com/gary_phillips_

While cinema listings for the UK this weekend include some outstanding prospects to aid romance by tugging at your heart strings (Nowhere Boy, The Road, Avatar, Precious) and some that you may choose to avoid, if you decide to stay in and cuddle on the sofa HeyUGuys has some suggestions that will lift the spirit and be the perfect accompaniment with your wine and chocolates.

These films are rated by their sheer unabashed romance and their continuing attraction.  They promote such a sense of goodwill and are so well made and acted that they might tempt you to actually cancel your restaurant reservations, head to M&S for their ‘Dine In for Two’ deal and give your cinema tickets to your mum.

In reverse order then, here are my recommendations for the top 5 St. Valentine Date movies:

5.   Superman (1978)

Christopher Reeve in his heyday was a beautiful man in dark slacks or blue tights.  Seeing him unwittingly seduce Lois Lane, played wonderfully by the inimitable Margot Kidder, will take you back to the time when as a child you sat gawping at the silver screen at the possibilities this film created for your imagination, your desire to fly, it puts the recent remake to shame.

This movie is simply the most enjoyable of the Superman franchise and if you have not seen it for a while (or at all) then you are in for a treat.  The action sequences are excellent, the audience are mesmerised with the heady mix of heroism and sass and like all great films you are left wondering where all the time has gone.

4.   What’s Up Doc (1972)

This is shamelessly screwball film and an absolute gem.  I can forgive Barbra Streisand anything for this film alone and I defy anyone not to empathise and enjoy the performances by both Streisand and Ryan O’Neal, an actor as beautiful as any in Hollywood and one whose comic timing and ability to look ridiculous is unsurpassed only by Redford in the number one film in this list.

This is comedy and chemistry genius and I continue to look forward to seeing it each time as though for the first time.

3.   How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

Three words should pretty much endorse this film as a contender for a great Valentine date film: Monroe, Bacall and Grable.  Following each of them on their journey towards a love they never expected is charmingly life affirming, amusing and as classy as it is funny.

The women stunning, the men suitably smug, the story as buoyant as the ample petticoats donned beneath the exquisite fashion of the times.  If there were any part in me that wished to be transported back to a particular point back in time for a holiday then this would be it.  I would happily play a bookish fourth waiting for my pump gas jockey to sweep me off my feet.

2.   Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

So much has already been said and sang about this film and its stars.  Audrey Hepburn is outstanding as Holly Golightly and the young George Peppard is as gorgeous and stoical as he could be as Fred/Paul. I think that these characters have carved up their right for existence since their introduction to the silver screen and a bit of them lives in each of us.

There is a great deal of nuance here that can be missed on a first or fifteenth viewing, but if only because the life and time it captures is winking at the brim of cool or just for the sheer beauty of it, this is an outstanding choice for Valentines.

1.   Barefoot in the Park (1967)

What happens when you cast two of the most beautiful humans together in a film as a married couple, draw out their comic skills with brilliant dialogue, a sturdy plot, throw in a genius supporting cast and add late 1960’s sensibilities and fashion?

Jane Fonda is almost hysterical as the excitable Corie and Robert Redford is the po-faced, somewhat behind the times Paul who struggle to begin their marriage against the backdrop of counter-culture Manhattan.

Indeterminable same sex couples, acrobatic pensioners and giant cats with can openers ensue.  If you have not seen this, gift a viewing to yourself as soon as possible and if you have, you know you really should see it again.  It is sexy, romantic, funny and constantly engaging and absolutely my number one choice.

All these films set very high standards in talent, script and production values, but for me it is the strength of the main characters that make all these films memorable and exciting.  There are of course many others that could have been in this short list.

What would make your top 5, or even your number one Valentine Date movie?

The Playlist have debuted the first couple of images from James McAvoy’s new movie, The Conspirator which I’ve placed below (click to enlarge).

The Scottish actor has hit the big time at the box office bringing us some awesome films including Atonement, The Last King of Scotland and Wanted with Angelina Jolie. Wanted was so successful that he’s been signed up for the sequel which is due for release some time in 2011 with both Jolie returning (somehow!) and Timur Bekmambetov directing. It goes to show that McAvoy is currently hot property in the land of Hollywood.

The Conspirator is directed by Robert Redford and co-stars Robin Wright-Penn. It’s currently being shot in Savannah, Georgia and some of the readers of The Playlist have sent some images of the cast which they’ve found out also includes Evan Rachel Wood, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline and Toby Kebbell.

The picture is a period drama based on true events following the assassination of President Lincoln and centers on the story of Mary Surratt, an alleged accomplice and conspirator of Abraham Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth.

We can expect to see The Conspirator later on in 2010.