Or, as I should call it, the moment where I truly embarrass myself with a list of 12 films I really should have seen already. If you aren’t already familiar with the Blind Spot Series, Ryan McNeil at The Matinee is the genius who created the concept, and he explains it much better than I ever could.
I’ve really enjoyed following others’ Blind Spot adventures over the past few months, and as there are so many amazing films I haven’t seen yet, and struggle to bring myself to get round to watching, I thought now would be a great time to get involved and take part myself.
So, without further ado, here is myine (and Jenna's) 2015 Blind Spot list:
The Godfather (1972)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Taxi Driver (1976)
My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
Platoon (1986)
Casablanca (1942)
The Terminator (1984)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Goodfellas (1990)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Life is Beautiful (1997)
My aim is to watch them in that order, but obviously I might have to switch it around depending on availability of the films themselves. I’m pretty excited to tackle this list actually!
Allie found this series, I hadn't even heard of it but I had to get involved, so as you can see I jumped all over Allie's post!! We considered 2 lists of 12 but that seemed like a lot, so I had to take a bit of editing to Allie's list as there was a few I had already seen. I feel this is a good time to mention that The Matrix was on there - Allie has not yet seen THE MATRIX!!! I feel like I'm going to have to bully her into this one anyway even though it's no longer on the list. (You bully me anyway, you don't need a reason!) I can't wait to get stuck in and make a dent in the IMDb Top 250 movies.
Is anyone still reading at this point, or did you all gasp in horror and close the page before you got to the end of the list?
Wow - that's an amazing collection of titles. You are in for one awesome year! Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ryan, we're really looking forward to tackling this list! It's going to be a brilliant year :)
Delete- Allie
LOL, I love this and I love that you're doing this together!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I've seen ALL OF THESE and they are ALL GOOD so you're in for a great year at the movies!!!
DeleteI should have counted on you for seeing ALL THE FILMS. I'm so looking forward to ticking these off! :)
Delete- Allie
Well, you've certainly missed a lot of movies. I've seen eight of those twelve, out of which I'd say four are really good. I picked up Taxi Driver once on an impulse and I loved it. It's an amazing movie and Robert De Niro is really good. Goodfellas is also a really enjoyable gangster film that I think you'll like.
ReplyDeleteAs for the others, you can't go wrong with The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. However, I'd recommend that you look at the whole trilogy which begins with A Fistful of Dollars and continues into For a Few Dollars More. You don't need to see those films to enjoy or understand The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (in fact people still debate on whether there is any continuity between the three films) but you can see Leone's progression as a director. If you like that one (which you probably will), you should definitely also check out Leone's later films: Once Upon a Time in the West (possibly his best); Duck, You Sucker; and Once Upon a Time in America.
I can't believe you haven't seen The Terminator yet, you should definitely get on with that, and if you like that one the sequel is even better. Casablanca is of course a classic, and Pulp Fiction is a great film even if its weird non-linear structure can be disorienting.
The Godfather on the other hand, I'm not really a fan. It's a great movie on a purely technical level but the story is so convoluted it's impossible to keep track of who's who and what's happening. Platoon is okay, but I personally preferred Apocalypse Now as far as Vietnam War movies go.
Incidentally, Life is Beautiful is also on my Blindspot List this year. I might get on that one some time during the summer.
Thanks John! This is just a small snippet of the huge number of classic films I'm yet to watch! I got round to watching The Godfather last night and although I enjoyed it, I really struggled to keep up with all of the characters and who was who. It was really long too!
DeleteHowever, I'm looking forward to working through these films throughout the year :)
- Allie
Cool list! So many must see's on here! I've seen about 5 of them and have 2 on my own list (Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas). On The Waterfront is fantastic, I just seriously love Marlon Brando. It was my favourite of the best picture winners, personally. Have fun watching all these!
ReplyDeleteThanks Heather! I can't wait to see your thoughts on Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas. It's definitely exciting to work through these films :)
Delete- Allie
Great to see you gals participating in the Blindspot series! Haven't seen many of the movies here but Schindler's List is on my Blindspot list too. It'll be fun to read your perspectives. :)
ReplyDeletePhew, I'm so glad there are films on here that others haven't seen either! I was worried I would be met with gasps of horror :D
Delete- Allie
You are seeing some classics! Great list! I haven't seen Totoro, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, or Life is Beautiful, but the rest of these I have and I love them all. Can't wait to hear you ladies' thoughts! Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be a great year, that's for sure! Totoro is the one I'm most looking forward too I think, I've been meaning to watch it for years :)
Delete- Allie
Great list! I've seen 6 of these (though one needs revisiting) and were great in their own way. Can't wait to read your thoughts about them!
ReplyDeleteThank you :) I'm so glad that there are films on this list that others haven't seen either!
Delete- Allie
Wow! We got 1 movie in common: Taxi Driver :) Well, all of them are great picks, you know. I have only watched 2 of these (for a person who never quite watch classic movie, that's good lol). Good luck, Jenna and Allie!
ReplyDeleteOoh then I look forward to finding out what you think about it :) Thank you!
Delete- Allie
You both are definitely in for a treat, excellent choices there. Well except maybe THE GODFATHER, for some reason I never understood all the hype those movies get. I've only seen the first two movies, as I never made time to make it past the second one.
ReplyDeleteTHE MATRIX will probably make my blind spot list next year, I tried watching it a couple times in the past and always fell asleep from boredom. Not sure why.
I've actually just finished writing my review for The Godfather, and I'm relieved to find you're the second person who hasn't raved about it. I enjoyed it, but it was really hard to follow! I'll join you for The Matrix next year :D
Delete- Allie
What a list you've put together. Some all-time classics on there. I've seen all but two of them: Totorro and On the Waterfront. Of the other 10, I absolutely love 9. I'm not the biggest fan of Life is Beautiful, but everyone else is. You two have some excellent movies ahead of you!
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly going to be one hell of a year, but I'm looking forward to tacking the list! :)
Delete- Allie