The Netflix 26/26 Callenge

It all started with Apocalypto. I don’t like to choose my own films. The last film I chose for myself was The Family…Yeah. So I ask people who watch a lot. Apocalypto was thrown in "as a risk" by Yates (somewhat of a film fanatic at work) and it turned out to be his best recommendation by far. When I came back asking for another I must have found him in a playful mood (and maybe he was sick of me asking). 

He proposed a game, which then turned into a challenge. 26 films in 26 days. After much um-ing and ah-ing we came up with the rules (I'm a fan of serious gameplay). They are as follows:

• 26 films must be watched within 26 days.
• All films must be recommended by others (no choosing your own).
• All films must be available on Netflix (from any country).
• Each film must represent a letter of the alphabet (e.g. A - Apocalypto, B - Bridget Jones), and all must be watched in alphabetical order.
• I mustn't have seen any of the films before the start of the challenge, I'm not allowed to research them before watching (apart from checking Netflix availability).
• No film recommendations can be rejected as long as they fit the other rules. 

Challenge accepted.
 
I made a Facebook status explaining the rules and inviting friends and family to pick a letter each. There was more um-ing and ah-ing over how I was going to stop people nabbing all the good letters or sending me a list of 26 films each. More rules! They all got one letter each and I kept note. This was hilarious to watch.

“What about (insert fourth attempt at a recommendation here)?”

“Sorry that’s not on Netflix either.”

“I thought Netflix was GOOD!”

Do you realise how many obvious choices are not available on any Netflix? Thelma and Louise, American Psycho... Try it: www.moreflicks.com , www.netflixaroundtheworld.com .

There were three types of recommendation: 1) Genuine heartfelt recommendations. Those were obvious when it came to watching those films and when those people were asking if you'd seen it yet and what you thought. 2)"the first thing that popped into my head beginning with the letter E". And then there were 3) those select 'friends' who immediately sought to exploit the rules in order to force you to watch Winnie the Pooh - A Very Merry Pooh Year. 

It took three days to complete the list and this is how it goes:

·         Argo (originally Anita)

·         Beasts of the Southern Wild

·         Collateral

·         Donnie Darko

·         The Expendables

·         Frankenweenie

·         The General

·         Happiness

·         Invictus

·         Jingle All the Way

·         The Kids are All Right

·         Little Miss Sunshine

·         Moonrise Kingdom

·         Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

·         Olympus Has Fallen

·         The Paperboy

·         The Quick and the Dead (originally Quadrophenia)

·         Road House

·         The Shining

·         Tootsie

·         The Usual Suspects

·         V for Vendetta

·         Winnie the Pooh – A Very Merry Pooh Year

·         Xanadu

·         Young Frankenstein

·         Zombieland

I didn’t get off to a smooth start. Day 1, I was supposed to watch Anita and I left it until about 11pm before I put Netflix on and realised Anita wasn't there. It's not on any Netflix at all. I could have sworn I'd checked before I put it on the list. "Oh my god! I NEED AN A!" Col couldn't think of anything except Alien (not on Netflix). A quick FB status sorted it, Argo was suggested, it fit all the rules. Phew. Thankfully this only happened one more time further down the list. I also immediately fell behind from B onwards and by day 14 I was only up to I. Two full days off work solved that, though I had to watch 8 films over that time in order to catch up.

Most of the films were good, some were great, it was rarely an effort to keep watching. In all honesty though, this challenge was probably a bit wasted on me. It’s not really a challenge for someone who only has a part time job and the huge responsibility of a cat to feed. It might also have been more difficult for someone less open-minded. The only film-bias I have is that I’m very jumpy which makes it hard to watch horror (but it didn’t stop me watching The Shining!). Col would only sit and watch a few of the films with me (his loss) and only then if he already knew what it was about and if it sounded like something he’d like. He’s really missing out.

I completed the challenge. Bang on time. Day 26 I watched Zombieland while the ghosts of films past stood around me whisper-chanting my name and as the credits rolled up I was lifted onto the shoulders of Leonardo DiCaprio and Jake Gyllenhaal. Matthew McConaughey narrated.  

Highlights

Aside from individual films the best thing about this challenge is the conversation it generates with everyone involved. I was being asked every day what letter I was up to, I was being told about favourite films, some friends were so anxious for me to get to their film that they were trying to persuade me to skip ahead. 

The General. This pretty much made the top of the list before I even finished watching. It was one that I knew nothing about before and when I realised it was a black and white silent movie I was delighted. The story is great, it’s light and funny and some of the stunts are amazing. A pleasure to watch. 

Little Miss Sunshine. The only film in the bunch to make me cry and laugh out loud. A genuine ‘feel-good’ film in my opinion. 

The Usual Suspects. It started off quite funny (the line-up scene) but then the rest seemed pretty standard and I think if it hadn’t been a part of this challenge I might have switched off hallway through. Anyone who’s seen this film would understand why that would be a BIG mistake, and I can thank this challenge for not letting me do that.

Xanadu. So bad. I wasn’t watching so much as staring in disbelief. I’d recommend it to everyone. It’s something that must be experienced. 

Winnie the Pooh – A Very Merry Pooh Year. I watched this on the 10^th January. I was no longer in a Christmas mood and I was being made to watch a film aimed at…what… 5 year olds? But it was a highlight because of how much I laughed at the situation I was in. It was a long 90 minutes though.

Tips

A few people have talked about wanting to do the challenge themselves. Here are some tips for those who dare attempt it:

• Have the complete list before you start the challenge. *Someone* suggested asking people every day for a film beginning with A, B etc. Just one per day. But this leaves you with no wiggle room; you’d have to watch one film per day which just isn’t doable sometimes. Also you then have to choose between more than one recommendation and if you’re not allowed to look them up beforehand you’re only choosing based on title or whoever recommended it. Nah 
• Don't be too hasty taking a recommendation from someone. Make sure they've seen it and are genuinely recommending it rather than just trying to think of films beginning with the letter E. As far as I’m aware this happened to me twice and both those films made it into the bottom three of the finished ranked list. It works best if someone thinks of a great film and then asks if the letter is free. This obviously gets harder as you fill the list 
• Try to watch as many of them as possible without knowing anything but the title. Great examples for me were Beats of the Southern Wild and The General.  

Before I leave you with my ranked list I’m going to have to give Yates some credit: He’s got some imagination. This was a great game and he’s a good referee. Ta lad. 

I hereby nominate (Oh yeah, I went there) Adam Waldron and Nick Seddon. Give it a damn good go, it can be a right laugh. 

Ranking

1. The General
2. Little Miss Sunshine
3. Donnie Darko 
4. Argo
5. The Paperboy 
6. The Usual Suspects
7. Tootsie
8. Olympus Has Fallen 
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
10. Collateral
11. Frankenweenie
12. Moonrise Kingdom
13. Happiness
14. Young Frankenstein
15. The Shining
16. V for Vendetta
17. Zombieland
18. The Quick and the Dead
19. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
20. Jingle All the Way
21. Invictus
22. The Kids Are All Right
23. Road House
24. The Expendables
25. Winnie the Pooh – A Very Merry Pooh Year
26. Xanadu