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89. The Intouchables (#38)

Posted on October 20, 2018 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney and this week with special guest Kieran Gillen, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturday at 6pm GMT.

This time, Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano’s Intouchables.

Sparks fly and worlds collide when a wealthy quadriplegic hires an unemployed former felon to serve as his personal care nurse. Philippe and Driss forge an unlikely and heartwarming bond, coming to a deeper understanding of on another and the world around them.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 38th best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: care, caregiver, carer, caring, dancing, Disability, feel good, french cinema, kieran gillen, music, omar sy, september, The 250 | Leave a comment »

66. Singin’ In the Rain (#92)

Posted on February 17, 2018 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney and this week with special guest Grace Duffy, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released every second Saturday at 6pm GMT, with the occasional bonus episode between them.

This time, Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s Singin’ in the Rain.

Regarded as one of the best musicals ever made, Singin’ in the Rain focuses on the transition from silent film toward talkies. With his studio embracing sound, leading man Don Lockwood begins to question his ability and his ability in a rapidly-changing industry. But love and good fortune are waiting just around the corner.

At time of recording, it was ranked the 92nd best movie of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: americana, dancing, fifties, gene kelly, grace duffy, mgm, musicals, singin' in the rain, singing in the rain | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Finding Your Feet

Posted on February 12, 2018 by Darren

Finding Your Feet is a fairly placid and mostly unobjectionable film that adheres to an increasingly familiar formula, a gentle reminder that life can often begin at sixty.

Finding Your Feet largely coasts off the charm of its cast, who seem to be having an enjoyable time with one another and appreciating the opportunity to find themselves cast as romantic leads in a globe-trotting adventure. In particular, there is something disarming in seeing Timothy Spall cast as a charming romantic lead, a disarmingly sincere lovable rogue who inevitably scrubs up quite nicely. Finding Your Feet offers very few surprises, but that is part of the attraction, perhaps worried that too many surprises might throw off the presumed viewer.

Spall good, baby.

However, Finding Your Feet is too awkward and clumsy to allow the audience to get entirely caught up in the familiar beats and rhythms of the tale. The familiar plotting of Finding Your Feet helps compensate for some strange storytelling decisions, with major character arcs unfolding off-screen and the film trying to fill its run time with things happening rather than focusing on the people to whom these things are happening.

Finding Your Feet is bland and inoffensive, its central cast providing a disarming charm that the movie never quite earns.