Completing all 250 movies on the IMDB's Top 250 List

Well, today I saw my 250th movie on the IMDB Top 250 list. It's something I set out to do back in 2002 and it's been lots of fun doing it. Thank Goodness for Lovefilm - it's a great online service that has helped me to get hold of most of the movies.

For posterity (since the list keeps changing), here are the movies I have seen to complete my list.

1. Godfather, The (1972)
2. Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)
3. Godfather: Part II, The (1974)
4. Schindler's List (1993)
5. Casablanca (1942)
6. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002)
7. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001)
8. Shichinin no samurai (1954)
9. Citizen Kane (1941)
10. Star Wars (1977)
11. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
12. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
13. Rear Window (1954)
14. Memento (2000)
15. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
16. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
17. Usual Suspects, The (1995)
18. Pulp Fiction (1994)
19. North by Northwest (1959)
20. Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001)
21. Psycho (1960) 
22. 12 Angry Men (1957)
23. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
24. Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
25. Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)
26. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
27. Goodfellas (1990) 
28. American Beauty (1999)
29. Vertigo (1958)
30. Pianist, The (2002)
31. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
32. Apocalypse Now (1979) 
33. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
34. Matrix, The (1999)
35. Some Like It Hot (1959)
36. Taxi Driver (1976)
37. Third Man, The (1949)
38. Paths of Glory (1957)
39. Fight Club (1999)
40. Boot, Das (1981)
41. Double Indemnity (1944)
42. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
43. L.A. Confidential (1997)
44. Chinatown (1974)
45. Once Upon a Time in the West
46. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
47. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
48. Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
49. Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957)
50. M (1931)
51. All About Eve (1950) 
52. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 
53. Se7en (1995)
54. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
55. Raging Bull (1980)
56. Wizard of Oz, The (1939)
57. Sting, The (1973)
58. Rashômon (1950)
59. American History X (1998)
60. Life is Beautiful (1997)
61. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
62. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
63. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
64. Alien (1979)
65. Léon (1994)
66. City of God (2002)
67. Manchurian Candidate, The (1962)
68. Touch of Evil (1958)
69. Great Escape, The (1963)
70. Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
71. Clockwork Orange, A (1971) 
72. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
73. Annie Hall (1977)
74. Jaws (1975)
75. Ran (1985)
76. Amadeus (1984)
77. On the Waterfront (1954)
78. Sixth Sense, The (1999)
79. Braveheart (1995)
80. High Noon (1952)
81. Modern Times (1936)
82. Fargo (1996)
83. Apartment, The (1960)
84. Blade Runner (1982)
85. Strangers on a Train (1951)
86. Aliens (1986)
87. Shining, The (1980)
88. Donnie Darko (2001)
89. Duck Soup (1933)
90. Toy Story 2 (1999)
91. Metropolis (1927)
92. Princess Bride, The (1987)
93. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
94. General, The (1927)
95. Run Lola, Run (1998)
96. City Lights (1931)
97. Notorious (1946)
98. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
99. Rebecca (1940)
100. The Seventh Scroll (1957)
101. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
102. Finding Nemo (2003)
103. Big Sleep, The (1946)
104. Dogville (2003)
105. Graduate, The (1967)
106. Great Dictator, The (1940)
107. Manhattan (1979)
108. Searchers, The (1956)
109. Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1989) 
110. Mononoke-hime (1997)
111. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
112. Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946) 
113. Deer Hunter, The (1978)
114. Glory (1989) 
115. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
116. Patton (1970)
117. It Happened One Night (1934)
118. African Queen, The (1951)
119. Philadelphia Story, The (1940)
120. Ben-Hur (1959)
121. Shrek (2001)
122. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
123. Green Mile, The (1999)
124. Forrest Gump (1994)
125. Yojimbo (1961)
126. Grapes of Wrath, The (1940)
127. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
128. Unforgiven (1992)
129. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
130. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
131. Hable con ella (2002)
132. Gone with the Wind (1939)
133. Stalag 17 (1953)
134. Straight Story, The (1999)
135. Night of the Hunter, The (1955)
136. Wild Bunch, The (1969)
137. Elephant Man, The (1980)
138. Young Frankenstein (1974)
139. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
140. Hustler, The (1961)
141. Platoon (1986)
142. Die Hard (1988)
143. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
144. Back to the Future (1985)
145. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
146. Almost Famous (2000)
147. His Girl Friday (1940)
148. Conversation, The (1974)
149. Spartacus (1960)
150. Being John Malkovich (1999)
151. Charade (1963)
152. Gold Rush, The (1925)
153. Festen (1998)
154. Gladiator (2000)
155. Amores perros (2000) 
156. Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938)
157. Insider, The (1999)
158. Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The (1962)
159. Life of Brian (1979)
160. Toy Story (1995)
161. Sling Blade (1996)
162. Mulholland Dr. (2001)
163. Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925)
164. Magnolia (1999)
165. Brazil (1985)
166. Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951)
167. Exorcist, The (1973)
168. Roman Holiday (1953)
169. All the President's Men (1976) 
170. Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951)
171. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
172. Smultronstället (1957)
173. Terminator, The (1984)
174. Killing, The (1956)
175. Ed Wood (1994)
176. Quatre cents coups, Les (1959)
177. Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994)
178. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
179. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
180. Stand by Me (1986)
181. Minority Report (2002)
182. Harvey (1950)
183. Right Stuff, The (1983)
184. Others, The (2001)
185. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
186. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
187. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
188. Adaptation. (2002)
189. Trainspotting (1996)
190. Network (1976)
191. Lion in Winter, The (1968)
192. Miller's Crossing (1990)
193. Gandhi (1982)
194. Rain Man (1988)
195. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
196. Traffic (2000)
197. Groundhog Day (1993)
198. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
199. Snatch. (2000)
200. Stagecoach (1939)
201. King Kong (1933)
202. 8½ (1963)
203. Untouchables, The (1987)
204. 39 Steps, The (1935)
205. Big Fish (2003)
206. Henry V (1989)
207. Rio Bravo (1959)
208. Todo sobre mi madre (1999)
209. X2 (2003)
210. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
211. Hotaru no haka (1988)
212. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
213. Planet of the Apes (1968)
214. Die xue shuang xiong (1989)
215. Ikiru (1952)
216. Big Lebowski, The (1998)
217. Good Will Hunting (1997)
218. 21 Grams (2003)
219. Beautiful Mind, A (2001)
220. Road to Perdition (2002)
221. Lost in Translation (2003)
222. Clerks. (1994)
223. Red River (1948)
224. MASH (1970)
225. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
226. Ying xiong (2002)
227. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
228. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
229. Deliverance (1972)
230. Birds, The (1963)
231. Man Who Would Be King, The (1975)
232. Whale Rider (2002)
233. Iron Giant, The (1999)
234. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
235. JFK (1991)
236. Heat (1995)
237. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
238. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
239. Batman Begins (2005)
240. Old Boy (2003)
241. Before Sunset (2004)
242. Before Sunset (2004)
243. Mystic River (2003)
244. The Sea Inside (2005)
245. Garden State (2004)
246. Pirates of the Carribean (2003)
247. Motorcycle Dairies (2004)
248. Sideways (2004)
249. Scarface (1983)
250. Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Sunday by the fire

On Sunday, we went to Amanda and Johnathon for lunch. They've just arrived back from 3 weeks in Australia so were tanned and full of hearty stories. They had a wonderful time and it was good to see their photos. We watched a movie "The Motorcycle Dairies" all about the "backpacking trip" through South America that started Che Guevera on his revolutionary journey. Great scenery that wetted out appetite. It was a freezing day on Sunday so we had a fire in the lounge to warm us up. Gina (A & J's collie dog) was as gorgeous as ever and very happy to have them back to herself.

Favourite movies & TV watched (2005)

• Sin City (2005)
• Batman Begins (2005) 
• Crash (2004)
• Million Dollar Baby (2004)
• Borat (2006)
• War of the Worlds (2005)
• Saw (2004)
• Old Boy (2003)
• Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring  (2003)
• Amores perros (2000)
• The Thing (1982)
• All the President's Men (1976)
• The Hustler (1961)
• Double Indemnity (1944)
• Miller's Crossing (1990)
• Dogville (2003)
• Twelve Monkeys (1995)
• Brazil (1985)
• Scarface (1983)
• The Conversation (1974)
• In the Heat of the Night (1967)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
• Bringing Up Baby (1938)
• Band of Brothers  (2001)
• 24 (TV series) (2001)

Shrek 2 at the cinema, followed by Nandos

We went to watch Shrek 2 on Sunday and absolutely loved it. Definitely recommended. I love Mike Meyer's Scotish accent - I never registered before that Shrek sounds quite a bit like "Fat Bastard" in Austin Powers - which is not suprising since the voice comes from the same guy. I also love John Cleese - so it was a treat.

There's a new animated film coming out soon which looks absolutely brilliant - "Shark Tale" Features Robert de Niro, Will Smith, Renee Zellwegger and Angelina Jolie -how's that for a star studded cast of voices! Made by the same chap who directed Shrek.

After the movie, we went to Nando's and had a great ex-peri-peri-ence. Nothing like South African Portuguese flame grilled chicken in the UK. They're very popular in Cambridge and for good reason. The food is really good - and not expensive either. The food in front of Ally is for both of us - by the way - just in case you think she is a glutton! The corn on the cob is particularly novel here - it's not something the brits usually eat - but very poular nevertheless.

Favourite movies watched (2004)

• The Others (2001)
• Goodfellas (1990)
• Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
• Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
• The Shining  (1980)
• Apocalypse Now (1979)
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
• Chinatown (1974)
• Psycho (1960)
• The Apartment (1960)
• The Graduate  (1967)
• Sunset Blvd. (1950)
• High Noon (1952)
• Roman Holiday (1953)
• Rear Window (1954)
• The Maltese Falcon (1941)
• Casablanca (1942)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Spirited Away (2001)
• Amadeus (1984)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• Gandhi (1982)
• A Clockwork Orange  (1971)
• Spartacus (1960)
• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb  (1964)
• West Side Story (1961)
• The African Queen (1951)
• Seven Samurai (1954)
• 12 Angry Men (1957)
• Ben-Hur (1959)
• Spellbound (1945)
• The Big Sleep (1946)
• Notorious (1946)