The end of another year is nearly upon which can only mean one thing - the [blogging] world goes list crazy, and being someone who is a bit list-centric, it is time for my offering. Here are my movies of 2011.
Although, it was just pipped by the Apes, Drive did offer a soundtrack which will not be beaten this year. From the opening to closing credits, the soundtrack was able to stylise and give the movie a feel that was very reminiscent of To Live And Die In LA .
It's been a while but I'm back. There are a couple of things I hope to post over the Winter so there should be a slight burst of activity.
Christmas is approaching and I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but for me, there are two things that indicate this:
The Coke advert on the television
The Christmas issue of the Radio Times
The first condition was met a few weeks ago, and on Saturday, the Radio Times will be purchased.
So with the Christmas mood starting to kick in, I thought it was time to watch a Christmas movie. The first one of the season was Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. Set in Lapland, it is based on folklore and fairytale of the area and not the Coca-Cola image of Santa Claus that we are all used to. Missing kids, mauled reindeer and satanic elves are the order of the day for this Festive flick with a difference.
With that watched, and the inevitable Best Of... list appearing in the Radio Times, in true Film 2011 style, I thought I'd post my Top 5 Christmas Movies.
I know what my favourite movie is but beyond that, I haven't really considered putting any others in any structure of rank. So I thought to myself, over the summer, I'm going to try and come up with a definitive list of my favourite movies.
I'm going to do it in three stages:
Films not in the English Language
Animated Films
The Definitive Top Ten
So, it begins. Here are my 5 favourite movies not in the English Language.
The plan for the fortnight was to chill out for the first half, and do a good bit of walking this week, however, that plan now looked to be a bit hindered. After the wash out of week 1, week 2 wasn't to fair much better according to the forecasts. This was a bit of a let down as I was going to go a walk with my brother and let him bag his first munro. SO just as it looked as though the majority of the week was off-limits, imagine our surprise when the MWIS forecast was very favourable for Tuesday. A couple of texts later, and a trip to Loch Earn to conquer Ben Vorlich was organised.
One scenic drive later and we were parked up at Arvorlich House ready to start the ascent. As walking routes go this one is pretty good. A path has been set out from the beginning to the summit, so from every part you can see the scar up ahead and if you look hard enough the trig point on the summit you are aiming for.
It started off quite easy. A good steady incline to get the initial knackeredness out of the way and let the lungs get a good build-up. After navigating the third stile you are away from estate land and onto mountainside with the only way being up.
Looking back, you get the same picture every time so it was difficulty to judge how far up you were. To our surprise, the first time we checked, we were over a third of the way in. I was convinced we were not even at the height of the Lyle Hill yet so that was quite motivating, but it was about this point that bad things happened. I started to get a really bad pain in my right knee. If you know me, you will know that this is a problem area for me but usually it is just a niggle that I can get through. This was different. This was a proper stabbing pain with every footstep. I decided to march on and see how it would go.
Somehow, we made it to the summit approach, with a good bit of scree separating us from the goal. Lord knows how I made it to this point and any thought of chucking it previously seemed a distant memory when I seen what I was to tackle next. This was going to take a while.
Marching on through the pain was the order of the day and this final section was no different. The image above is basically what drove me on. The thought of the sights on such a clear day was an appealing prospect. A few determined stints later and we made it.
Before the obligatory summit shots, we headed over to the cairn to ensure we had a shot at both points.
From the cairn, we got great shots of what should have been summit no. 2 of the day - Stuc a' Chroin. With the amount of pain I was feeling, there was no way I was trying it. I'll leave that one for another day.
Back to the true summit and it was time for pictures. Munro no. 11 for me and a first for Gaz.
Getting to the top is half the battle. The descent is always another matter. The constant downhill impact gives my knee a battering at the best of times so I was not looking forward to this at all.
Once passed the rocky final section, it was not too bad.
The path meandered down with Loch Earn always being visible. Well, that was until we got to the stiles in the estate. When you have limited leg movement, crossing a stile is quite the obstacle.
My week of walking was finished before it even began. The original plan was to try and get 4-5 munros done over the week but you know what they say about the best laid plans. I would have to settle for one this week and plan alternative ascents in the future. Although my plans have been hindered, it was good to finally get out and tackle a hill with my brother. Hopefully, there will be some more in the future.
In regards to the knee, there doesn't seem to have been too much damage. Two days later and the sharp sensation is away and I can actually walk without looking like I am completely immobile.
Breathtaking scenery. Tropical weather. Different cultures. Copious amounts of food and drink. Everything you could ask for from a break away. But when you stay in Scotland, the tropical weather is more reminiscent of a tropical rainstorm opposed to blistering blue skies. And this was no different. Welcome to Fort William at the end of May.
Day 1
I did joke with Dad earlier on that if the weather is bad, this is pretty much going to be three days sitting in the pub. The 5-day forecasts weren't helping but we were still holding out a bit of hope [because we all know, forecasts are slightly unreliable]. Imagine the despair, when it was the rain battering off my window that woke me up on Monday morning. This was going to be a long three days. The plan was to get to Glasgow early, take time over breakfast then be in Queen Street in time for the northbound train. What happened next was basically the prerequisite for the rest of the holiday - the Gourock to Glasgow trains were off. In true Scotrail fashion, they resumed quicker than expected with no explanation and we eventually found ourselves in Glasgow with some time for fuel at the Counting House.
Even more surprisingly, the 09:07 Fort William train was on time and it was time for Dad to experience the sights of the West Highland Line.
Once we had passed the build up areas of Dumbarton and Helensburgh, the day was looking up. There were some blue patches around about the Arrochar - Crianlarich areas but this was short lived. The clouds came right down and the downpour pretty much stayed constant until Tuesday with it getting worse the further north we travelled.
We arrived in fort William just after lunch and to escape the weather we darted into the first pub we could.
Through the door, we were confronted with clouds of smoke. It turns out, the open coal fire was on full burn to counteract the weather; and it was good. The rest of the day continued to be pretty much of a wash out and a lot of time was spent in the hotel and it's bar. We were seven days off June, and this video from About Lochaber pretty much sums it up.
It was proper blowing a gale, and to compound matters even worse, Fort William was hit with a town wide power cut just as we finished our tea.
Day 2
Tuesday was to be one of the main events of the few days away. The tickets were booked and collected to travel on the Scotrail service to Mallaig and finish off the full West Highland Line route. This was scrapped beyond our control before I even got out of my bed. The radio was reporting major train disruption across the whole network, specifically naming the Mallaig service as one that was indefinitely cancelled. This break was getting better by the minute. Not to be too despondent, we wandered though the high street and noticed the Jacobite steam train was sitting in the station. We might be able to salvage some kind of photograph from the holiday.
A few snaps from Dad later and it was time for lunch. We decided to head back to the hotel and sample their snack menu to leave room for a big tea.
Numerous hotel bar hours later, and we began to get more hope. The dry spells were becoming more frequent so we decided to jump into full tourist mode. Banavie was the destination in the hope to see the the Neptune's Staircase section of the Caledonian Canal.
It was quite an impressive sight but due to the weather there were no boats about and none of the locks were in operation. To compound things, just as we got to the top of the locks, we got a day's rain in 5 minutes only to brighten up again after we were suitably drenched. The word scunnered came to mind but this was short lived as Banavie provided us with a nice surprise.
Ben Nevis is the biggest mountain in the UK. Being so, you would think that you would get some kind of view of it from the town that sits at it's base. This is not the case. The summit of Cow Hill, obscures any view of Nevis range from Fort William town centre. But not from Banavie. From here, you are afforded unparalleled views of the range.
The weather wasn't ideal but it allowed Dad to see how quickly the weather can change up a height. One minute there was not bad visibility and the next, you couldn't even tell there was anything there.
Day 3
The original plan for Wednesday was to get brekkie, check out of the hotel and head round to Nevis Range and take the Gondola up to the 650m top station to let Dad get a sample of what it's like to be up a height. That plan got scrapped on Tuesday. After the train cancellations and the changeable weather, we decided to head down the road on the earlier train.
So that was that and we were in Fort William station waiting on the 11:40 Glasgow Queen Street service. however, all was not lost. The return journey down the road had slightly more visibility than Monday's journey up. As well as getting good scenery, this was quite beneficial as seeing the areas on the line helps plan a few of the future hill walks I intend to do on public transport.
Along with Tangled, movie no. 30 is the one that started this whole challenge. It is also the one that heralded a new era for animated film. Combining the strong fairytale elements of the early days, and the state of the art digital technology, Beauty And The Beast was such an event that it became the first animated film to be nominated in the Best Picture category at the Academy Awards. This was probably the highest profile from the list I had previously not seen and I must admit, it deserves all the plaudits it receives. While I am not really a fan of the 'Princess' movies, this worked. And I think it is the lack of Royalty that made it work. Belle was an ordinary person. There was no King or Queen, no evil stepmother. The only regality was the Beast with the lavish colours and grandeur only on show to reflect his mood. All in all, a highly entertaining watch and it gets bonus points for putting me up to 166 films seen on the IMDB 250,
Following on from the success of The Little Mermaid, Disney would enter the nineties on a high. First up was the The Rescuers Down Under. This was breakthrough for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was the only time until now, a sequel would be added into the Classics canon. Secondly, and more importantly, it is the first entry to be fully constructed in a digital environment.
I didn't like 1977's The Rescuers, but this is a completely different film. The setting of the Australian outback really does bring a breathe of fresh air to the predominantly darker settings of the previous few decades. I really did like the fact they modelled McLeach on George C Scott as well as using his voice.
I have to admit, I have been struggling with this challenge. As much as I love my animated movies, I think I have been spoiled with the Pixar CGI-fests which is making some of these quite laborious. However, this one has reignited my drive to get this done.
