300: Fish Tank

Fish Tank is an interesting title in the latest edition of The 1001 Films To See Before You Die. It was to be expected that Avatar, Inglorious Basterds and Precious would be included due to the bundles of awards under their arms, their well-respected directors and the billions of dollars they took at the Box Office, but Fish Tank (only director Andrea Arnold's second film) has little reputation by comparison and is included in the book on its merits alone. Fish Tank focusses on the life of 15 year-old Mia (Katie Jarvis), an aggressive, foul mouthed loner and her mother Joanne (Kierston Wareing) and sister Tyler (Rebecca Griffiths), all of whom become reinvigorated with the arrival Connor (Michael Fassbender), Mia's Mother's new boyfriend.

Fish Tank is a very interesting modern British Film, with a very heavy emphasis on British. Like many other offerings of recent years it focuses on life within a council estate and the effects of the education system and family life on young people. The theme of family runs straight through the film, it is questionable as to whether Mia has a family of any sort, her sister is abusive, her mother moreso. The only moments where a family dynamic seems established is when Fassbender's Connor appears and quickly assumes an encouraging fatherly role, albeit a little too quickly to be comfortable. Nothing remains constant in Mia's life, her mother's attitude towards her changes as quickly as the weather, her school is changing and her family too, though she rarely changes her greying hoodie.

Fish Tank rests on Katie Jarvis' portrayal of Mia, with no previous acting experience before Fish Tank (not even a bit part in Waterloo Road) Jarvis' performance is astonishing and vicious. It is perhaps telling that she was spotted by a talent scout in the very area the film is set, Jarvis acts like she knows every bleak detail of the neighbourhood, every crack in the pavement and every can by the roadside. Michael Fassbender's portrayal of Connor is equally profound, at no point does Connor's prescence ever feel comfortable, Connor is over-friendly to the point of being creepy, Fassbender can just flick a look in one direction and make you feel uneasy. Kierston Wareing and Rebecca Griffiths feel like secondary characters, but both of their frantic performances are not easily forgotton, Griffiths in particular makes Hit Girl look timid.

Fish Tank does not present any revolutionary new camera techniques, it does not change "the game" in any way or heave intolerable amounts of "grit" or "darkness" into the story which many British films have a tendency to do at the moment. What it does do is demonstrate the power of brilliant performances and an engaging script. One of the final, most heavy hitting moments of sadness comes when watching the credits which reads "With Thanks to the UK Film Council", a film such as Fish Tank demonstrates importance of this now redundant body in selecting and supporting the best British talent.

COMING SOON

I know it has taken a while to publish the review of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, but never fear new reviews are on their way soon, and will not take as long as the Priscilla. Look forward to 

300: Fish Tank

301: Blow Up

299: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a road movie through and through. Three drag queens begin a journey across the Australian Outback for a month's residency at a hotel owned by one of the drag queens' wives. On this journey, the three companions stumble upon oddballs, homophobes and new loves whilst discovering things they never knew about one another. Appearing first in 1994, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert burst into cinema's in all it's finery and won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.

The central trio of the film consists of Tick (Hugo Weaving), Adam (Guy Pearce) and Bernadette (Terrence Stamp) played by very fine actors, but none of whom are actually gay and as such have little idea of what it is to be gay. As such Weaving, Pearce and Stamp seem to be playing their parts with as much flamboyance as possible in order to try and distract the audience with pretty colours whilst covering up any moments of emotion or character interaction that fall flat.

The colours are very pretty indeed, with the film deserving it's Academy Award for Best Costume Design. At the very least it can be said that writer and Director, Stephen Elliot has visual flair. The pivotal moment where the three friends climb Kings Canyon in all their finery is a moment of real beauty. Elliot chose well to switly move any moments of strife, anguish or desperation along in order for the script to get around to another ABBA joke or the next village on the journey. None of the actors seem fully capable of creating any kind of performance that is believable, the only thing that resonates is Guy Pearce's shrill manic laugh.

As it becomes so evident at the beginning of the film it is essential to remember that this film is best seen as a comedy, when approaching the film it is better to just go along for the ride and to not question or invest too much in the characters. Even if some of the jokes don't hit the mark or become tired towards the end of the film, Priscilla is at certain moments very funny. It appears that Elliot is influenced largely by John Landis, one scene in particular where Bernadette walks into a bar to eerie quiet recalls The Slaughtered Lamb in An American Werewolf in London. Elliot's combination of music and comedy seems to echo Landis' The Blues Brothers too.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert may be in the list of 1001 Films To See Before You Die, but how long it will remain there is another question. No longer as shocking as it may have been 16 years ago, Priscilla almost seems irrelevant, the multitude of films that have been released since that concern similar themes are vastly superior to this quickly aging pantomime. Priscilla definitely has moments of hilarity and of cinematic scale, but these no longer seem enough to keep the film in the 1001 Films To See Before You Die.

COMING SOON

In a change to the recent schedule I have not yet watched or reviewed The Killing Fields. Instead I have opted to watch Goodbye Lenin! (the review can be found below). The next review, which will be up in the next few days is:

299: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

298: Goodbye Lenin!

The destruction of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany is often seen for cause for celebration. It has recently just been the 20th anniversary of the moment the Wall fell and to celebrate we saw Bono parading on the border of East and West Berlin commemorating what is seen by most of the world to be a joyous occasion. It is this celebratory discourse that surrounds the falling of the Berlin Wall that makes it so surprising to watch a film with undertones of loss and sadness regarding this event.

Goodbye Lenin! details the events shortly before, during and after the Berlin Wall is toppled and how this affects one East German family and their neighbourhood. The central family of the piece is the main source for drama and tragedy in the film as all of them have wildly varying opinions on the Socialist rule of Eastern Berlin. As one character falls into a coma before the Berlin Wall falls and the reunification of Germany only to wake up in 1990 in such a frail condition that this news could cause them to fall once again into a coma.

Goodbye Lenin! deals with so many contemporary issues and is influenced by so many genres that it is hard to know where to begin. Goodbye Lenin! is part euthanasia drama, part slapstick comedy, part family observation, a sprinkling of East/West awkwardness with a big Red Socialist Cherry on top. The film is catergorised as a tragicomedy but in many ways it feels like so much more than that simply due to the sheer scope of the issues it deals with. There are moments of real comedy in Goodbye Lenin! but this is comedy with a comment, the film is in the same vein as Juno or Little Miss Sunshine which are comedies, that comment on teenage pregnancy or the sexualisation of 8 year olds.

The film benefits from it's wickedly written script, the variety of characters and the opinions they all have make Goodbye Lenin! very sharp and very engaging. The central family unit remains at the heart of the film whilst incorporating mad and bizzarre characters that can be found in any society, not just the newly formed Germany. At no point does the film drag with a "worthy" message or get bogged down in the heavy issues. This is a very concise, well edited film that ensures you walk away thinking of quirky little scenes about the difference between pickle brands or moments of tragedy, rather than the long winded, depressing film Goodbye Lenin! could very easily have become.

As a comedy Goodbye Lenin! is bright and original, as a drama it is poignant and thought provoking. Even with the important issues that surround the film and the slightly long viewing time for a comedy, Goodbye Lenin! is a breeze for anyone to watch and when considering everything this film incorporates and the fact that it is in German with subtitles, this makes Goodbye Lenin! a triumph.

297: Belle de Jour

Belle de Jour comes with a reputation of sexual liberation, female empowerment combined with undertones of masochism and bondage. At the centre of Belle de Jour is Catherine Deneuve's Séverine, the "Belle" of the title. Séverine is married to a successful doctor but she cannot be physically intimate with him, though at the same time she has incredibly graphic fantasies where her husband, friends or men from the street flog her, bind her and fight for her. To relieve some of this sexual tension Séverine starts work in a brothel and is introduced to new and interesting forms of sexuality.

When reading the synopsis for Belle de Jour it appears as though it is either a very sexy and witty film or a very hard hitting, gritty tale of prostitutes and creeps but what actually results is a film nestled in between these two thoughts. Though many of the situations Séverine finds herself in are either humourous or dangerous, Catherine Deneuve maintains an ice cold composure throughout the film, whether happy, sad, imperrilled or in climax. It becomes hard to generate any feeling towards Séverine at all, she isn't forced into prostitution like her associates also her husband cares for her and wishes for their relationship to be more physical. The turmoil that eventually surrounds Séverine is completely self inflicted, though Séverine is unaware and as such the film leaves a slightly bitter taste in the mouth

This isn't to say that there aren't moments that do shine in Belle de Jour, the majority of the drama centres around the brothel run by Madame Anaïs, and in the brothel the films most interesting moments arise. A discussion regarding the difference in pay at a regular job and working at the brothel springs to mind. The comraderie amongst the ladies of the brothel is evident, they are simply work colleagues spending time with each other outside work, lending clothes and meeting families. The brothel isn't portrayed as a dangerous or harmful place, the women appear to enjoy their work, but just as Séverine isn't happy at home, she isn't at work either.The variety of clients that frequent the brothel provide both humour and disconcertion. The clientele are an array of losers, criminals or fantasists like Séverine herself, all wanting a particular type of attention whether it's 3-in-a-bed romps or masochistic humiliation. Pierre Clémenti shines as the creep of all creeps, Gold toothed obsessive Marcel, Séverine's love interest (if you could call it that) whose violent tendencies are always close to the surface.

There are most certainly moments where Belle de Jour is the funny, witty and erotic film it wants to be, it is a shame therefore that these moments hardly feature Deneuve at all. When Deneuve is on screen, all eroticism seems to depart and the film is left cold, which is a shame. As the credits roll the experience of the film feels empty and (I would imagine) similar to the feeling following a visit to a brothel, unfulfilling.

296: Rosemary's Baby

Strangely, for a Horror film, Rosemary's Baby offers very few shocks, there are no jump- from-your-seat style moments, instead Rosemary's Baby simply unsettles you to a point where you may rather just get up your seat and stop watching. Based on the novel by Ira Levin, Rosemary's Baby concerns the story of a couple who move to a new apartment with a chequered past. It follows Rosemary's (Mia Farrow) descent into hysteria and paranoia as her pregnancy continues and the actions of her husband and her neighbours are increasingly suspicious.

As the film follows Rosemary and her husband, Guy, from moving day through her pregnancy the pressure in Rosemary's Baby mounts as Rosemary creeps closer to her due date, every character, no matter how old, friendly or supportive becomes suspicious. The horror in Rosemary's Baby comes from this potent concoction of suspicion and paranoia on the part of the viewer, just as Rosemary begins to see everything as suspicious so does the viewer. The idea that nobody is trustworthy, especially those closest to you, emotionally or geographically, is one that will haunt you long after the credits have rolled. It may take some time before you go next door for one of those “parties” they like to hold.

Mia Farrows' portrayal of a young woman in a desperate situation is harrowing and the images of her as sleep deprived and gaunt in the first few months of her pregnancy are shocking. Rosemary's transformation is signalled by a beautiful, fashionable Vidal Sassoon haircut that is universally condemned by the entire supporting cast. It is the supporting cast that really shine in Rosemary's Baby, whether it's John Cassavetes' Guy, Rosemary's uncaring, ignorant husband or Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer as the worlds’ most terrifying neighbours, it is these smaller roles that make Rosemary's Baby terrifying and memorable.

As the entire film appears to build up to one big reveal, the Baby of the title, it becomes even more disturbing when the Baby is never actually shown on camera. Polanski shows the audience the Devil in one of the earliest scenes but the child is apparently too horrific to be filmed. This a perfect example of how effective the film is at unsettling it's viewers, everything is left to the imagination, nothing is certain. We're never sure if everything Rosemary thinks is true or whether she is being hysterical and irrational. The audience is aware that something is wrong but they are never sure what it is, some actions are seen as suspicious but may be entirely innocent and on the other hand innocent actions can become violent making every character sinister in their own way.

Due to the film's reputation, a new viewer approaching Rosemary's Baby may see everything as suspicious, possibly more so than when it was initially released, this puts a greater emphasis on the viewer's interpretation of the actions seen. The combination of suggestion and an ever increasing forboding feeling make the effect of Rosemary's Baby's a lasting one.

295: The Diving Bell And The Butterfly

E. S. A. R. I. N. Six letters that begin a specialist alphabet which is both a symbol of hope and entrapment for the central figure of The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, ex-editor of Elle Magazine, Jean Dominique Bauby. Through the use of this alphabet, Bauby paralysed entirely apart from one eyelid, learns to communicate by spelling every word he wants to say through a series of blinks, eventually writing a book using this method. The viewers of the film are privy to all of Bauby's thoughts, dreams and memories which show him to be a witty and spirited individual confined by his own body and forced to communicate through this enduring process.


The film culminates with Bauby finishing his book, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" of the title. The Diving Bell, is alluded to throughout the film, is Bauby's own metaphor for his body encased in a suit surrounded by water where escape and movement is impossible. The Butterfly appears to be both the woman transcribing Bauby's book for him and Bauby's own desire to break free of a Chrysalis and fly away.


Hearing and seeing everything Bauby hears, sees and thinks draws the viewer in whilst giving a sense of how it may feel to be in such a condition, the terror of new doctors and their patronising tone is conveyed brilliantly and resonates long after the film has finished. One example, where a new doctor opts to use the familiar version of Bauby's name, Jean Do without asking is infuriating. The frustration felt by Bauby is found in his interior monologue which screams for certain small things like being able to watch a football match.


Gorgeous flashbacks to Bauby's life before he was paralysed bring a sense of what he was to those around him, the juxtaposition of him as a father before and after he was paralysed is somewhat haunting. Scenes showing him as the centre of attention at a photo shoot and then his barely full visitors book in the hosipital are particularly brutal. The thing that remains constant is Bauby himself, who is just as funny and clever as he ever was.

Through the superb editing it becomes apparent how good Mathieu Amalric's performance is, seeing him before and after his accident combined with the emotion conveyed in Bauby's narration make his performance a lasting one. The supporting cast is also superb, Max Von Sydow gives a heartbreaking performance in just two scenes as Bauby's father trapped in his own way. Emmanuelle Seigner plays Bauby's transcriber who appears to fall for Bauby as they write his book together and showing the intimacy she has with him as the only person with full access to his thoughts and desires.


The Diving Bell And The Butterfly has both the power to be uplifting or heartbreaking, this depends entirely on the view you take of the character of Bauby seen as either the Bell or the Butterfly transforming in front of our very eyes.

294: 12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men centres around a jury deciding the verdict of a case, after what initially seems like a simple verdict, one juror throws a spanner in the works and insists the jury take another look at the case.

Legal dramas often centre around the characters of the criminal, the lawyers or the judge, aside from one early glance, 12 Angry Men doesn't feature the accused, the judge or any of the court case. Instead it uses the accounts of the jurors to paint a picture of the case and those involved, introducing the viewers to the case through the discussions the jury have. Though this may sound like a dull concept for a film, it is gripping to say the least as elements of the case are revealed through a trickle of facts in the jury's deliberation allowing the viewer to decide with the jury whether or not the accused is guilty.

The setting of the drama is crucial, on "the hottest day of the summer" in a tiny room with 12 men, each bead of perspiration can be seen as white shirts turn grey and ties get skewed. The pathetic fallacy of the film is simple, the heated discussions occur as the weather gets hotter, a crescendo is reached at the point of a storm and when all is resolved, the weather is still. It is as effective as it is theatrical. The drama barely moves from that room and even during bathroom breaks the tension is kept high as the jurors bicker amongst themselves.


12 Angry Men relies on the group dynamic of the jurors to create tension. The drama comes through these characters rather than events that surround them. Personalities unfold in front of your eyes, political persuasions and temperaments of the jurors are revealed by showing what each juror focussed on in the case and how they relate it to their own situation. At the centre of the drama is Henry Fonda's Juror Number 8, who is initially the only juror with any "reasonable doubt", the concept of which is toyed with throughout the deliberations. Jurors Number 3 and 9 played brilliantly by Joseph Sweeney and Lee J Cobb become the most realistic and believable characters in the entire situation as their characters are given greater back stories and empathy to work with.


Issues of racial politics, urbanisation, the legal system, family disputes and stereotyping come to the fore as each juror gets a chance to speak. Any remark from any character is enough to stir a thought in either a characters or a viewers mind, each word becomes crucial as certain elements of the case and of the group dynamic are explored. Jurors fall in and out favour depending on the viewers own point of view and in this the brilliance of the film is seen. As vote after vote is taken and speech after speech is made watching the film almost makes the viewer a 13th Angry Man feeling involved in the drama.

The Films I Have Already Seen

This isn't to bore any of you with a simple list of films I have seen, but to make sure that I have a saved list of the films in the book "1001 Films To See Before You Die" that I had seen before I began this blog. Starting with the latest releases:-

2009
Inglourious Basterds, Avatar, The Hangover, An Education.(4)
2008
The Hurt Locker, Let The Right One In, Gomorrah, The Wrestler, The Dark Knight,
ANVIL! The Story of Anvil, Slumdog Millionaire. (11)
2007
There Will Be Blood , No Country For Old Men, La Vie En Rose. (14)
2006
Once, Borat, Pan's Labyrinth, The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine. (19)
2005
Brokeback Mountain. (20)
2004
Downfall. (21)
2003
Oldboy, Kill Bill vol. 1. (23)
2002
The Pianist, City of God. (25)
2001
The Lord of The Rings (all 3), Spirited Away, Moulin Rouge. (30)
2000
Memento, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Amores Perros, Requiem for a Dream, Gladiator.(35)
1999
The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, American Beauty, Being John Malkovich, The Blair Witch Project, Fight Club, Magnolia, Three Kings. (43)
1998
The Thin Red Line, There's Something About Mary, Ring, Saving Private Ryan.(47)
1997
Titanic, Funny Games, Boogie Nights, L.A. Confidential. (51)
1996
Scream, Trainspotting, Independence Day, Fargo. (55)
1995
The Usual Suspects, Se7en, Clueless, Heat, Toy Story, Braveheart, Babe. (62)
1994
The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Natural Born Killers, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Clerks, The Lion King, Forrest Gump. (70)
1993
Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, Philadelphia, Groundhog Day. (74)
1992
Unforgiven, Reservoir Dogs, Glengarry Glen Ross. (77)
1991 
Thelma and Louise, Terminator 2, The Silence of The Lambs, Boyz 'n' The Hood. (81)
1990
Total Recall, Edward Scissorhands, Pretty Woman, Dances with Wolves, Goodfellas. (86)
1989
Say Anything, Sex Lies and Videotape, The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover,
When Harry Met Sally, Batman. (91)
1988
Rain Man, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Die Hard, Dangerous Liaisons, Big, The Naked Gun,
A Fish Called Wanda, Akira. (99)
1987
Fatal Attraction, The Untouchables, The Princess Bride, Good Morning Vietnam, Withnail and I,
Full Metal Jacket, Raising Arizona. (106)
1986
Top Gun, Platoon, A Room With A View, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Aliens, The Fly, She's Gotta Have It, Stand By Me, Manhunter. (115)
1985
Brazil, Back to the Future, The Breakfast Club, (118)
1984
Ghostbusters, Beverley Hills Cop, This is Spinal Tap, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Terminator. (123) 
1983
Scarface, Terms of Endearment, The Big Chill, The Return Of The Jedi. (127)
1982
Ghandi, Tootsie, The Evil Dead, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing, E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial,
Fast Times at Ridgemont High. (135)
1981
An American Werewolf in London, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Das Boot. (138)
1980
Raging Bull, Airplane, The Empire Strikes Back, The Shining. (142)
1979
Mad Max, Manhatten, The Muppet Movie, The Jerk, Apocalypse Now, Life of Brian, Alien. (149)
1978
Halloween, Dawn of The Dead, Grease, The Deer Hunter. (153)
1977
Suspiria, The Hills Have Eyes, Eraserhead, Saturday Night Fever, Annie Hall, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Wars: A New Hope. (160)
1976
The Man Who Fell To Earth, Network, Taxi Driver, Rocky, Carrie. (165)
1975
Jaws, Monty Python and The Holy Grail, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Dog Day Afternoon. (169)
1974
The Godfather Part II, Blazing Saddles, Chinatown, Young Frankenstein, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. (174)
1973
The Exorcist, Serpico, Don't Look Now, The Wicker Man, Mean Streets, Enter The Dragon,
American Graffiti, The Sting. (182)
1972
The Godfather, Cabaret. (184)
1971
Dirty Harry, Shaft, The French Connection, Get Carter, Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory,
A Clockwork Orange. (190)
1970
Five Easy Pieces. (191)
1969
Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. (194)
1968
Night of the Living Dead, 2001: A Space Odyssey, If..., Planet Of The Apes. (198)
1967
The Jungle Book, Bonnie And Clyde, Cool Hand Luke, The Graduate. (202)
1966
(202)
1965
The Sound of Music, Doctor Zhivago, (204)
1964
A Hard Days Night, Dr. Strangelove, My Fair Lady, Goldfinger. (208)
1963
The Great Escape, Hud, The Birds. (211)
1962
Lolita, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lawrence of Arabia. (214)
1961
West Side Story, The Hustler, Breakfast at Tiffany's. (217)
1960
Spartacus, Psycho, La Dolce Vita. (219)
1959
Rio Bravo, Ben Hur, Some Like It Hot, North By Northwest. (223)
1958
Dracula, Vertigo. (225)
1957
The Bridge On The River Kwai, The Seventh Seal. (228)
1956
The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, Giant, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Searchers, Forbidden Planet. (233)
1955
The Night of The Hunter, Rebel Without a Cause, The Ladykillers, Bad Day At Black Rock. (237)
1954
Rear Window, Animal Farm, On The Waterfront. (240)
1953
Shane, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Roman Holiday. (243)
1952
High Noon, Singin' in The Rain. (245)
1951
The Day The Earth Stood Still, The African Queen, Stranger on a Train, A Streetcar Named Desire. (249)
1950
Rio Grande, The Asphalt Jungle. (251)
1949
The Third Man, White Heat. (253)
1948
The Red Shoes. (254)
1947
(254)
1946
Gilda, It's a Wonderful LIfe, Notorious, Great Expectations, The Postman Always Rings Twice. (259)
1945
Brief Encounter. (260)
1944
Double Indemnity. (261)
1943
(261)
1942
Casablanca. (262)
1941
Dumbo, The Maltese Falcon, The Wolf Man, Citizen Kane. (266) 
1940
Pinocchio, Fantasia, Rebecca, HIs Girl Friday. (270)
1939
Wuthering Heights, Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr Smith Goes To Washington. (274)
1938
Bringing Up Baby, The Adventures of Robin Hood. (276)
1937
Snow White and The Seven Dwarves. (277)
1936
Mr Deeds Goes To Town, Modern Times. (279)
1935
Bride of Frankenstein, The 39 Steps. (281)
1934
It Happened One Night, Triumph of The Will. (283)
1933
King Kong, Duck Soup. (285)
1932
(285)
1931
M, Frankenstein, Dracula. (288)
1930 and before
Metropolis, The Gold Rush, Battleship Potemkin, The Thief of Baghdad, Nosferatu. (293) 

After spending far too much time on this list, it appears I have seen 293 of the 1001 films to see before I die. Now it is just a matter of seeing the remaining 708, in these next 10 years. I hope you all will join me, take part and contribute as much as you all can.

Introductions

Like many people out there with a passion for films and an inquisitive nature I have recenly purchased the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" and listed how many films I had watched. I counted 293. After doing a little bit of Maths (see below) I worked out how long I had to live. Fortunately this result gave me a solid 47-48 years to watch the remaining films on the list, however as the list constantly updates, I would find it hard to keep up. The maths also doesn't work out, as many of the films on the list I have seen, i've seen in the last 4 years due to age restrictions and such. Thankfully my parents didn't show me Natural Born Killers when I was 3, had that been the case this blog could have been about something completely diferent.

So here comes the point of this blog: I Aim To Have Seen ALL 1001 Films To See Before I Die by the time I am 30 and in doing so widening my knowledge of film and everything associated with it. This task gives my blog it's name as by the time I am 30 I am at risk of Death by Film.

My 30th Birthday will hopefully be on the 10th February 2021, which gives me approximately 537 weeks in which to see 708 films. That's 1.3 films a week and with the help of my girlfriend, friends, family and the staff at the local cineworld I aim to achieve this goal whilst documenting my progress on this blog. I would also like to thank Steven Jay Schneider for putting such a glorious book together and giving me the inclination to persue this endeavour.

P.S If at any point a R.I.P notice appears on this blog, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS. Until then, lets get the (salted) popcorn in and enjoy some films.

The little bit of Maths mentioned earlier:

((l/s)*a = da)

l= The number of films on the list (1001)
s= The number of films I have seen (293)
a= My Current Age (19.666)
da= The Age at which I would "die" (67)