The Ultimate Christmas Present! (Part One)

It is 2002, many years ago, and Jo and I - and friends - regularly got together to create short films.

Yes - Jo, Rhys and Matt studied Film and TV, but no-one else did so it was merely an opportunity to play around and spoof films we loved and mock films we didn't. The following film - Kung-Fu Balls - created in 2004, in Aberystwyth, was the fourth film created by, what became known as 'The Balls'.

In Part One, notice the psuedo-Pokemon riff as faces speed-across the screen ...

But seriously, brace yourselves for Part Two (tomorrow) because that is where this short really kicks off...

[Nb, there is partial-Simon nudity...]

A-Z #25: Blade Runner

You can pick up hundreds of DVD's for a round-pound each - it doesn't matter. Its never about quantity, its about quality. A-Z is my way of going through my collection, from A-Z, and justifying why I own the films... or you can tell me why I should sell 'em

#25 - Blade Runner 

Why did I buy it?

I was so late on this one. I always knew about Blade Runner but ultimately - primarily through the awful releases prior to the 5-disc boxset - I never heard enough to hunt it down. I visited a close friend in Aberystwyth one weekend - Rhys BL - and we decided to watch a bunch of films either I had not seen or he had not seen. I enjoyed Blade Runner and could see what was good and knew that I would have to buy it eventually. (Amongst the viewings was This is England - for Rhys - and I Am Legend - for me. What was interesting about the latter was that, as we watched it on blu-ray, my virgin-viewing of the film was with the alternate ending. I watched the actual ending shortly afterwards and it was so much worse.)

Anyway, Blade Runner has so many multiple versions, I knew that eventually I would get this boxset and indeed I did: tin case, 5-discs, weird-plastic-recreated-thing-from-the-film.

Why do I still own it?

Because of how it looks - it simply looks incredible. Ironically, after all those concerns with the releases prior to the 5-disc pack, now it has been released on Blu-Ray (an incredible version I managed to catch a glimpse of at my sisters house) you cannot get a version that has everything (The films on blu-ray and the special features on the DVD's in one boxset) so I shall stick with my current box-set. I haven't watched the film since I purchased it - partly because I don't know which one next to watch. My virgin-viewing was the Directors Cut so now I am due to show it to Sarah and I am thinking about watching the original Theatrical Cut with her... and its only a matter of time before I do watch it again. But I think there is no reason to shift this one yet - because it simply shows how a Sci-Fi should look (opposed to the story which, lets be honest, for all its Phillip K. Dick, its hardly ground-breaking).

Should I sell it though? Because, lets be honest, Unicorns ultimately don't exist.

Remember - you can always email The Simon and Jo Film Show directly using this email: simonandjoshow@gmail.com

We are also on Twitter  and Facebook.

A-Z #20: A Beautiful Mind

You can pick up hundreds of DVD's for a round-pound each - it doesn't matter. Its never about quantity, its about quality. A-Z is my way of going through my collection, from A-Z, and justifying why I own the films... or you can tell me whether I should sell 'em...

#20 - A Beautiful Mind 

Why did I buy it?

I was - and ultimately still am - attempting to watch all the Best Picture winners and I found this cheap enough to purchase it. I vividly remember buying it at the Aberystwyth Woolworths and, as I walked home, I was dubious about whether it would be any good... would I find it long and boring ...

Why do I still own it?

In the first instance I do like it and, back when I first bought it, I watched it many times because I enjoyed it so much. I even watched it with young Jo and this brought about an epic debate: the focus of the film felt a little unclear - the romance between Nash and his wife should have been the centre-point of the film ... but it actually didn't feel important in A Beautiful Mind, hence the almost-unneccessary feel of the romance story - we were all rooting for Nash (Crowe) to simply get over his (without giving anything away) problems.

The epic debate was how I used Titanic as an example of a film that, although about the disaster and showing great sub-stories about class in 1912, the film was rooted in the romance between Jack and Rose, hence why it was so good - Titanic is, before anything else, a Romance. Jo disagreed - Titanic is a disaster movie according to him.

This incredible argument raged on all night and A Beautiful Mind is what started it all. This may be part of the reason I still own it because, capturing the frame from the film above made me give it a slight re-analysis and, having watched many Oscar contenders and Best Picture winners since this film, it does seem quite by-the-numbers so...

Should I sell it?

Remember - you can always email The Simon and Jo Film Show directly using this email: simonandjoshow@gmail.com

We are also on Twitter  and Facebook.

A-Z #6: All About Lily Chou-Chou

You can pick up hundreds of DVD's for a buck each - it doesn't matter. Its never about quantity, its about quality. A-Z is my way of going through my collection, from A-Z, and justifying why I own the films...

#6 - All About Lily Chou-Chou

Why did I buy it?

Initially, I watched this at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre back in my Uni Days of 2002. It was a random film that I was recommended and advised to watch at the cinema and after I watched it a close friend told me how he absolutely adored it. He truly thought it was incredible. At the time, I thought very little - I was not really aquainted with international cinema - let alone Japanese cinema but something stuck. Moreso, it stuck when I watched Kill Bill Vol. 1 and, as The Bride runs her hands across the samurai swords the incredible song by Lily Chou-Chou plays. I remembered the track vividly from the film and reawakened my interest. I bought the film from Fopp and watched it a few months later and realised how great it was.

Why do I still own it?

This is, on one-side a story about teenagers; the bullying and love-life that accompnaies a teenagers life. But, more interestingly, on the other-side, it is about music and the escapism of music. The almost spiritual experience when a song seems to pull out emotion from deep down. That buzz you get when a crescendo peaks, the warm feeling when a chord shifts - and your praying for it to be a satisfying move - and it really is - your tempted to raise your hands to some sort of spiritual plain. When you see your favourite band and they play the one track you have heard hundreds of times in the quiet of your bedroom ...

All About Lily Chou-Chou captures and explores that - and this is why it shall stay in the collection.  

Remember - you can always email The Simon and Jo Film Show directly using this email: simonandjoshow@gmail.com

We are also on Twitter  and Facebook.