Over the last year Kat embarked on a literary challenge to see if she could read 52 books in 52 days; essentially one book per week; and to kick off 2015 with something new and fresh, we are pleased to say we are going to continue tradition. This time, however, 52 feature length movies will be in the spotlight but rather than having Kat just do all the hard work, I am also taking part in the challenge as well. Again, like last year, we will have a few rules, as followed:
- The films have to be at least one hour long – Some early or specialist feature films are therefore not permitted
- At least one of us cannot have seen the film before – This is so one of us watches the film as new experience but the other is not allowed to spoil any of the plot.
- The one who hasn’t seen it previously will have to write the majority of the review – The other will be contributing however
- Mediums allowed – DVD’s, Blu-Rays, Online Streaming services (i.e Netflix), Network broadcasts and of course, the actual cinema
- Sequels are permitted – However, only if they are a new cinematic or home entertainment release during 2015 or the preceding film has been watched first. Prequels are also allowed regardless if the original film has been watched or not
Like the book challenge, it’ll give us both an opportunity to watch some great films that we have always wanted to watch but never really got round to do so. Some films will be watched at around about the same time they become relevant, so we could watch a romantic comedy on Valentine’s Day or a Christmas film during December.
So which films are we going to watch? Here is an extensive collection of the films that have been shortlisted for our challenge. You may notice that collectively there are more than 52 films on our watch-list. This is so if we can’t come by a copy of one thing, we will still have a back-up to watch.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – Science Fiction; directed by Stanley Kubrick
2012 (2009) – Disaster; directed by Roland Emmerich
50/50 (2011) – Comedy Drama; directed by Jonathan Levine
A Christmas Carol (2009) – Christmas; directed by Robert Zemeckis
A Long Way Down (2014) – Black Comedy; directed by Pascal Chaumeil
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) – Comedy; directed by Tom Shadyac
Airplane! (1980) – Comedy; direct by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker
Around the World in 80 Days (2004) – Comedy Adventure; directed by Frank Coraci
Beetlejuice (1988) – Comedy; directed by Tim Burton
Dirty Dancing (1987) – Romantic Drama; directed by Emile Ardolino
Divergent (2014) – Science Fiction Action; directed by Neil Burger
Donnie Darko (2001) – Supernatural Drama; directed by Richard Kelly
Enchanted (2007) – Fantasy; directed by Kevin Lima
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) – Comedy Drama; directed by Michael Gondry
Godzilla (2014) – Science Fiction; directed by Gareth Edwards
Goodfellas (1990) – Crime Drama; directed by Martin Scorsese
Grave of the Fireflies (1988) – Animated Drama; directed by Isao Takahata
Groundhog Day (1993) – Comedy; directed by Harold Ramis
How to Train your Dragon (2010) – Animated Comedy; directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
I Am Number Four (2011) – Science Fiction; directed by D.J. Caruso
Indian Jones and the Curse of the Crystal Skull (2008) – Adventure; directed by Steven Spielburg
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) – Adventure; directed by Steven Spielburg
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) – Adventure; directed by Steven Spielburg
Jaws (1975) – Horror; directed by Steven Speilberg
Jingle All The Way (1996) – Christmas; directed by Brain Levant
Kindergarten Cop (1990) – Comedy; directed by Ivan Reitman
Maleficant (2014) – Fantasy; directed by Robert Stromberg
Monsters University (2013) – Animated Comedy; directed by Dan Scanlon
Need for Speed (2014) – Action; directed by Scott Waugh
Never Been Kissed (1999) – Romantic Comedy; directed by Raja Gosnell
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) – Fantasy; directed by Guillermo del Toro
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) – Comedy; directed by John Hughes
Pulp Fiction (1994) – Black Comedy; directed by Quentin Tarantino
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Adventure; directed by Steven Spielburg
Ratatouille (2007) – Animated Comedy; directed by Brad Bird
Sharknado (2013) – Disaster; Anthony C. Ferrante
The Blues Brothers (1980) – Musical; directed by John Landis
The Breakfast Club (1985) – Comedy Drama; directed by John Hughes
The Godfather (1972) – Crime Drama; directed by Francis Ford Coppola
The Hangover (2009) – Comedy; directed by Todd Phillips
The Hunger Games (2012) – Science Fiction; directed by Gary Ross
The Karate Kid (2010) – Martial Arts; directed by Harry Zwart
The Miracle on 34th Street (1947) – Christmas; directed by George Seaton
The Wind Rises (2013) – Animated drama; directed by Hayao Miyazaki
There’s Something About Mary (1998) – Comedy; directed by Peter Farrelly and Robert Farrelly
Top Secret! (1984) – Comedy; directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker
Wayne’s World (1992) – Comedy; directed by Penelope Spheeris
When Harry Met Sally… (1989) – Romantic Comedy; directed by Rob Reiner
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) – Comedy; directed by Robert Zemeckis
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) – Action; directed by Bryan Singer
Not contempt with enough films to watch at home, here is a list of the films we could potentially see that are being released whilst we do our challenge. These include films that will be shown in cinemas during the 2015 period:
Fifty Shades of Grey (releases February 2015) – Drama; directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson
Avengers: Age of Ultron (releases May 2015) – Action; directed by Joss Whedon
Jurassic World (releases June 2015) – Science Fiction; directed by Colin Trevorrow
Furious 7 (releases April 2015) – Action; directed by James Wan
Minions (release June 2015) – Animated Comedy; directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda
Spectre (release TBC but possible October or November 2015) – Action; directed by Sam Mendes
Fantastic Four (releases August 2015) – Action; directed by Josh Tank
The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (releases February 2015) – Animated Comedy; directed by Paul Tibbitt
The Little Prince (releases October 2015) – Animated Fantasy; directed by Mark Osborne
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (releases December 2015) – Science Fiction; directed by J. J. Abrams
As you can fully see, there is a diverse range of films; from cult classics to big blockbusters as well as some highly anticipated titles such as Star Wars and James Bond’s new outing. There’s some that I haven’t seen and others that Kat hasn’t seen whilst the rest neither of us have seen. This challenge not only gives us the chance to put across double-perspective accounts from both of us but also gives us the chance to say why we thought it deserved a place on the list whilst the other gives their verdict, for the better or possibly worse. And because of the social nature of watching a film, we can include guests to give an even more in-depth discussion.
As always, if you think we’ve missed out a critical film that we must see, send us a tweet @Reviewinators; send a comment on Facebook or comment on this post below. Don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll be updated on the new articles as and when they come out. You know it makes sense!
Jimmi