I guess everything comes back around. Like your goddamn ties.

Date: Monday 15th April

Another day, another trip to The PCC (are we surprised? I bloody love it there), and this time I am introducing my sister to a double bill of films (again with a Q&A) by a writer/director that I love. A writer/director who is tirelessly working on making new and innovative films, or at least films that don't rely on the same old story telling techniques we see a thousand times over. First up...

Film: Brick (2005)
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas and Emilie de Ravin
Running time: 01 hour, 50 minutes
Rating: 9/10

I adore this film. I've seen it more times than is healthy. It is a fabulous noir thriller, harping back to classic detective thrillers that we haven't seen since the early days of cinema. It is modernised, taking from the mysteries of old, it tells the story of high school student searching in the shadows to find out what has happened to his ex-girlfriend. he has a couple of clues that make no sense, red herrings throwing him off and
an impenetrable group who know more than they are willing to tell.

I don't want to tell more, the brilliance of this film is all in the mystery. With a fabulous cast and an awesome script, it's hard to believe that this was Rian Johnson's debut. A near perfect film.

After a brief break for supper and a quick Q&A with the man of the hour, in which we learnt a lot more about how Rian Johnson works and what he aims to achieve with his films, it was time to settle down for the second movie of the night and, in comparison to Brick, Rian's big money gamble. A mind-bending time travel film with a decent budget, a big name cast and the chance for Rian to prove that he can do action as well as he can do drama...

Film: Looper (2012)
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt and Jeff Daniels
Running Time : 1 hour 59 minutes
Rating: 9.5/10

I've gushed about this film before, and I have nothing to add. With each viewing I feel like I learn a little more about the ,story, about the characters, about the future.

Yes, the time travel logic is a little flawed but if you are looking that deeply into the timeline of a film, you don't deserve nice things.

Challenge day: 201
Challenge time: 12 days, 20 hours, 30 minutes
Challenge film total: 158

The fate of the planet is in the hands of a bunch of retards I wouldn't trust with a potato gun.

Date: Saturday 12th January
Film: Armageddon (1998)
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler
Running time: 2 hours, 31 minutes
Rating: 7/10

I'm putting it out there. I love Armageddon.

Yes, it is corny. Yes, it is predictable. Yes, it is a ridiculous concept but, there is something about it that I cannot resist. It might be Ben Affleck in a vest...

I've seen Armageddon more times than is healthy for anyone. I had a friend at school whose parents had the very first DVD player I'd ever seen, they only had three DVDs, one of which was Armageddon. We would all gather at her house after school and watch this at least twice a week. It's one of those films I remember going to see at the cinema, I remember who I was with, I remember roughly where we sat, I remember who cried the hardest (and still mock them for it).

After all those teenage viewings, I've taken a little break from this, I don't remember watching it anytime in the last few years. However on Friday we found ourselves gathered around the TV in the office watching the '20 greatest movie songs' and as soon as that Aerosmith video started up, we were off in our own little world discussing the merits of one of the cheesiest action films in a long time (OK, OK, we mainly discussed Affleck in that vest). 

Saturday night rolls around, I'm flicking through the channels at my parents house, trying to find something to watch and, as if the programming Gods had heard the previous days discussion, BBC Three were showing Armageddon. 

The film seems to be a lot cheesier than I remember, and with a less accomplished cast it could have been a complete disaster, but all told, it's a great piece of escapist cinema. It doesn't expect anything of it's audience and aims to do nothing but entertain, and that it does. In buckets. 

Challenge day: 109
Challenge time: 6 days, 13 hours, 01 minute
Challenge film total: 81