Thursday Update

I've been busy with a few things this week but have managed to watch one or two movies every day, so here's an update of the week so far.

Continuing the theme of grinding through my least preferred movies first, Monday morning was time for my first Marilyn Monroe movie, Some Like It Hot (#79). To my surprise it was actually pretty funny, and for a '50s movie about transvestism, remarkably devoid of "omg gay"-type jokes. I don't think there are any other Monroe films in the top 250 but I'd probably watch another one under only a small amount of duress.

Then for another comedy from the following year, The Apartment (#84). This has a promising premise, about a guy who tries to climb the corporate ladder by lending his apartment to his superiors as a shag pad, but the script fails to deliver on this promise and much of the comedy hasn't aged well. But the idea is good enough that I could see this being remade successfully.

Now for a film I'd really been looking forward to, and the only Korean film in the top 250, the 2003 vengeance flick Oldboy (#118). This really lived up to everything I'd expected; gritty, nasty, compelling and beautifully choreographed and shot, I'd rate this as maybe the best film of the project so far, and a likely entry for my personal top 20. It also has a really intriguing dénouement, which still has me scratching my head several days later. Or maybe it's the fleas.

The Graduate (#158) placed me back on the comedy train, and this one really is as good as everyone says. To call it a comedy is maybe selling it a bit short, because the jokes are good but sparse, and it's more a film about alienation and adulthood, both of which are well-handled. I expect this is up there with Psycho as films which more people talk about than have seen, but it's worth a watch if you get the chance.

For my weekly dose of Hitchcock, I went for one of his earliest creations, Shadow of a Doubt (#185). This has all the hallmarks of classic Hitchcock, with great performances, a solid script and a good dose of criminality, although it's not as well-developed as later films. Nevertheless it was sufficiently interesting that I watched it all in one sitting, which is more than I can usually manage with black and white movies.

Finally, Sean joined me for Das Leben der Anderen (#57), [The Lives of Others], which examines the strangely voyeuristic surveillence network of '80s East Germany. Long subtitled films can occasionally drag but this is really such a brilliant piece of cinema that the two hours flew by. I'm always intrigued by German films, particularly because I don't speak a word of the language, and this is up there with Die Fälscher as one of the best. Unfortunately I was too busy enjoying it to think of anything else interesting to say, so I'll end the update here.

Tally: 117.