Movie record 2020 edition - The Bear and Badger

poprock

I actually ended up using Vere’s thread all through 2019, so let’s do it again.

Verecocha wrote:

Gonna record ALLLLLL the movies I watch here this year …

I liked the short reviews/comments last year. Vere’s rule was a dozen words or less, but I broke that quite often. Some people like to leave scores, some don’t. It’s all good. You do you.

What did really work was making a new post every time you watch a movie, then copy/pasting that into your master list at the start of the thread. I’m gonna do that again.

Reading the list back at the end of the year was a nice thing.

poprock

London Has Fallen
Big Gerard Butler saves the day again. Ridiculous macho ‘America fuck yeah!’ militarism.

Wild Rose
Glasgow, country music and redemption. Surprisingly affecting and Jessie Buckley is fucking brilliant.

What Women Want
No thanks to Mel ‘racist’ Gibson, but with Helen Hunt and Marisa Tomei this still stands up as a good light comedy.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Nothing memorable, but a solid finale to the trilogy of trilogies.

Destination Marriage
Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves in a low-budget indie romcom. Surely that’ll be worth watching? No. No, it really isn’t. Switched it off about 40 minutes in.

The Hustle
Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson in a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, with all humour removed and replaced by actual steaming horseshit.

Hustlers
Star turn from J-Lo as the ringleader of strippers fleecing their customers after the Wall St crash. Glitzy and genuinely funny.

Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
A beautifully shot whole load of nothing. Zilch. Zip. Nada. There’s just nothing there. A vacant lot.

Joker
An ugly story, told beautifully. No fun, no redemption, just an understandable descent into madness.

The Devil Wears Prada
Romcom fluff, but nevertheless a favourite of mine. I could watch Meryl Streep pretending to be Anna Wintour all day long.

How to Build a Girl
Caitlin Moran’s enormous ego: the movie. I fucking loved it. Nothing challenging, but smart, funny and heartwarming.

Salt
Can’t believe this film’s a decade old now. One of the better action spy thrillers from the days before every movie had to spawn a franchise. Jolie’s great in it.

Anna
Stylish lightweight Cold War spy thriller with a great cast. Not Besson’s best, but not his worst. Helen Mirren steals the show.

Ad Astra
Brad Pitt travels to the edge of the solar system but all he finds is yet another story of a middle aged white American man facing his Daddy issues.

Made of Honor
Proud bearer of some of the worst Scottish accents (by English actors, no less) I’ve ever heard, and a caber-tossing scene with an obviously fibreglass log. Also, a shit-tier romcom. For the bin.

Ford vs Ferrari (or Le Mans ’66)
Predictably, I loved it, Bale’s accent aside. Days of Thunder meets Mad Men.

The Good Liar
Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren hamming it up. You know there’s a twist coming … but fuck me, it wasn’t the one I expected.

Knives Out
Rian Johnson directs an all-star cast, attempting to make a modern Agatha Christie. Ends up making a Colombo pastiche. Fun, though.

Late Night
Light comedy with Emma Thompson as a US chat show host. A nothing film, but worth watching for scenes of Emma Thompson doing stand up.

World War Z
Unfairly maligned disaster movie on an epic global scale. Tense fun, even if it’s a waste of the source material.

Dolemite is my Name
Eddie Murphy is perfect as the man who made himself into a blaxploitation star. Funny and heartwarming. Wesley Snipes is an excellent comedy foil.

Pan’s Labyrinth
Del Toro’s masterpiece. A fairy tale and a war story, beautifully intertwined. As beautiful and sad as any fairy tale should be.

Shutter Island
Starting to look it’s age, but still a well constructed bait-and-switch. And that string refrain from Max Richter. Beautiful.

Extraction
Bang! Bang! Knife fight! Explosion! Bang! (Actually, not a bad mindless action movie. That’ll do, Hemsworth.)

21 Bridges
Heist goes wrong, can’t trust anyone, can’t trust the cops … and it’s all a bit ‘adequate’.

The Rhythm Section
Blake Lively is excellent (and barely recognisable) but it’s a mediocre thriller, full of cliché.

The Kitchen
Lightweight gangster thriller with a feminist slant set in ’70s New York. Melissa McCarthy and Elisabeth Moss stand out from an excellent cast.

Last Christmas
I don’t know why Mrs Poprock decided to watch this in May, but she did. Good cast, shit film. Emilia Clarke definitely has a future in Fleabag-esque roles.

The Raid
The Raid has influenced every movie/TV fight scene filmed since. Tightly choreographed physical action without distraction or respite. The brutality is the plot. Still brilliant, still unmatched.

Bombshell
Who knew a film about sexual harassment at Fox News could surprise anybody? It’s brilliant. Kidman, Theron, Robbie and Lithgow are all excellent.

The American
Beautifully shot slow paced Clooney thriller where nothing much happens. An enjoyable ’70s throwback.

Parasite
Beautiful and awful and funny and tragic. I can see why it was so fêted.

Inception
It’s a weird one to go back to. Does a puzzle box still hold interest when you know the solution? I dunno. It’s still fun. Still visually brilliant. The ‘James Bond’ snow section still falls flat.

The Prestige
Nolan’s finest. Jackman and Bale’s obsessive magicians destroying each other over the course of a decade. Bowie as Tesla. Perabo and Johansson as glamorous assistants. Radiohead on the soundtrack. Still fantastic, from start to finish.

Snowpiercer
Rewatching this without the initial ‘WTF am I watching?’ shock value reveals it to be extremely shallow and heavy handed with its ideas. Swinton still brilliantly bonkers though.

Killer Elite
Overlooked hitman flick with Jason Statham. DeNiro plays his old buddy, Clive Owen wears a hilarious ’tache as the bad guy. Daft but fun.

The Invisible Man
Elisabeth Moss plays a victim who develops a spine of steel (again). It’s a clever update of the story but it’s fundamentally unpleasant.

Coyote Ugly
It’s dumb, it’s loud, it’s sentimental claptrap. And I love every moment of it. One of John Goodman’s finest performances too.

American Animals
I was pondering the complete lack of female characters until I realised it’s absolutely consistent with telling the story from the POV of four obsessive teenage boys.

The Old Guard
Theron plays her immortal warrior queen as a hard-boiled hardass, and it works. A thoughtful action flick only let down by paper-thin clichéd bad guys.

Official Secrets
Solid, simple political thriller that reminds me exactly how fucking angry to still be about Blair & Bush getting away with starting the Iraq war. Keira Knightley’s good in it.

The Sum of All Fears
Definitely the worst Jack Ryan thriller. Affleck’s wooden. Freeman’s phoning it in.

Zodiac
Top-notch serial killer procedural from Fincher with an excellent cast, but it’s at least half an hour too long.

Project Power
These B-tier action flicks remind me so much of straight-to-video ’80s fare that I’m gonna start calling them straight-to-Netflix movies.

The Gentlemen
Fun gangster flick with an outstanding cast doing some of the daftest accents ever committed to film.

Enola Holmes
Millie Bobbie Brown is going to be an enormous movie star. Her and Henry Cavill both have charisma for miles in this. Simple fun, Sunday serial style.

Duplicity
Corporate espionage romcom with Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, and absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. Great soundtrack though.

The Personal History of David Copperfield
Altogether too much whimsy, but charming nevertheless. Tilda Swinton and Benedict Wong are the standouts.

Rebecca
Directed by Ben Wheatley. Score by Clint Mansell. Screenplay by Jane Goldman. And yet somehow it’s a bland, pedestrian period thriller. Pretty, but dull.

Crooked House
Standard Agatha Christie adaptation with a good supporting cast. Christina Hendricks, Gillian Anderson, Glen Close …

Gangster Squad
LA’s got a mobster problem; Josh Brolin & Ryan Gosling are the tough ex-military cops to solve it. Why did nobody tell me how much big dumb fun this is?

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
I had doubts, but it really is as good as everyone says. And what a voice cast!

The Secret: Dare to Dream
Utter mince. Like watching a Hallmark-level Christmas movie that wasn’t even set at Christmas time. Katie Holmes, what happened to you and your career?

Lord of War
This stands up well. Nic Cage as a Ukrainian in America who turns to arms dealing in a big way. Jared Leto stays out the way enough to not ruin it. Bleak but still fun.

La La Land
Didn’t plan to rewatch this again but it was on TV and I couldn’t resist. It’s still magical. Charming, beautiful, sad, and funny. An all-timer.

Mulan
Live action remake of a cartoon I’ve never watched. It’s a simple story but the action and the cinematography are beautiful. And the colours! So vibrant. Not a special movie, but a pretty one.

Ava
‘Hot female assassin turns against her employers’ is becoming a real cliché. Jessica Chastain has a convincingly military physicality in this, but it’s not a genre great.

Noelle
More of a kids film than I expected. Still, Kendrick is funny. Christmas tosh, 5/10.

Tenet
Not as bad as I was expecting. A perfectly decent action flick, albeit with minimal actual plot.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Not what I expected. More of a locked room play than a big budget movie, with a strong performance from Chadwick Boseman (RIP).

Gremill

Think I'll do this, this year. I often forget what I've watched...

1. The Sound of Music
I've never seen it and I don't generally like musicals, but this was on and it's one of Vicky's favourites so I chose to subject myself to it - plus it's set in and around Salzburg which I have family connections to. Surprisingly I enjoyed it, almost entirely down to the iconic songs and Julie Andrews performance which is lovely. What an astonishing voice she had.

2. John Wick 3
Much better than I thought it was going to be, despite it being basically a video game - although it was quite self aware too which helped. Great action though, nice long static shots with some hilarious deaths and a higher than average number of nut-shots, punches and bites.

3. Spies in Disguise
Fairly standard kids film with Will Smith and Tom Holland in the lead roles. Super Spy Smith gets turned into a pigeon and 'hilarity' ensues. Pure beige, instantly forgettable.

4. Atomic Blonde
Enjoyable clockwork spy action thriller with great performances and bone crunching action throughout. Theron is amazing as always.

5. Tomorrowland
I really like this film. This was the second time I've watched it and I'm convinced it's a lost kids cult classic. Brilliant production design, a great story, a nice message of hope which becomes more prescient with every passing year and grumpy Clooney. Great Sunday afternoon fare.

6. Deadwood
Or alternatively, 'Oldwood' - where everyone is a bit fatter or more withered than the last time you saw them. Finally finished re-watching the series and capped it off with this love letter to the show and it's characters. Finishes the story off brilliantly and brought genuine tears to my eyes.

7. Enemy of the State
Superb conspiracy theory thriller turned hauntingly factual dystopian nightmare with the Don, Gene Hackman, and Will Smith playing an 'everyman' which he should do more often because it suits him more than any of his daft superhero schtick.

8. 1917. Brilliantly made and gorgeous to look at, with great performances to boot. There's not much to it, but what it does do it does superbly. 8.

9. Divergent. Looking for something to watch with the family and we settled on this. Fairly middle of the road young adult dystopian sci-fi fare, with some interesting ideas, middling performances and a few inexplicable decisions in what felt like a rushed last third. (6)

10. The Dark Knight Rises. Not seen this since I watched it at the cinema on release and I think I enjoyed it far more this time around. It's by far the most comic booky of the Nolan trilogy, where the two main characters having very silly voices is only like the fifth most ridiculous thing in it, but my God the action set pieces are superb. 8

11. The Fugitive
Hasn't seen this since I owned it on VHS and was briefly astonished to realise it was nearly 30 years old. Still a great watch though and the obvious dummy off the dam wall is still hilariously bad. (7)

12. Logan Lucky
Entertaining redneck heist with a fantastic soundtrack and some chirpy performances from actors who look like they are having a grand old time. (7)

13. Ant Man & The Wasp
Seen this a few times now, but my 10yo boy has a bit of an emotional wobble this morning stressing out about everything that’s going on. This was the perfect way to cheer him up; light, funny and throwaway with lashings off Rudd to lift the blues. (7)

14. The Money Pit
Watched this stone cold classic with the kids half thinking it wouldn't really appeal as they tend to disregard anything more than 10 year old. How wrong I was - they loved it. Still hilarious, with Hanks at the top of his comedy game. (9)

15. Rise of Skywalker
First time I've watched this since the cinema. Perfectly entertaining but at times unbelievably cheesy family action adventure. Some great sequences and incredible SFX - but a bit all over the place and far too long. (7)

16. The 40 Year Old Virgin
This has dated in so many ways, but remains an interesting insight into the basest parts of the male psyche. The cast are fantastic and it's still really, really funny. The final scene had me in tears of laughter. (

17. Onward
Pixar film with Chris Pratt and Tom Holland as Elven brothers in a formerly magical world overtaken by technology who want to meet their dead dad for one day. Really lovely film that looked great, was set in a very appealing world and was obviously written by an absolute D&D geek. Loved it. (8/10)

18. The Thing (2011)
Had very low expectations of this, given that the original is an all timer, but was actually pleasantly surprised. Some decent creature effects and designs (but not as visceral as the practical effects of the Carpenter one) and a good atmosphere, but it showed a bit too much at times and didn't quite manage the the originals dread. For a film that leaned so heavily on the original, right down to some of the set pieces, it felt a bit shit that they didn't even acknowledge John Carpenter in the credits. (6)

19. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Pretty terrible, TV movie standard see Tom run airport novel adaptation. The worst Cruise movie I've seen. (3)

20. Extraction
Opening 45 is some of the most balls to the wall hi octane action I've seen in a long time. It sags slightly in the middle third but is never less than entertaining if you don't think too much about the absolutely astronomical body count. Really enjoyed it. (

21. You Were Never Really Here
Great but grim film with a towering central performance from Phoenix. (9)

22. A Personal History of David Copperfield
Outstanding. Incredible cast, bravura performances, witty script, beautifully put together, every frame luminous and fizzing with life and energy. One of the best films I've seen in years. (10)

23. Call of the Wild
Or, One Dog and his Man. Disappointing and distractingly full CGI dogs feature in this bog average Disney kids film. Once you stop expecting the dog to talk like Scooby Doo it's serviceable enough. (5)

24. The Other Woman
Terrible chick flick starring Leslie Mann, Cameron Diaz, Kate Upton and incest prince from GoT (sadly without his brass hand) and featuring a Great Dane doing a massive CGI shit. Directed by Nick Cassavetes for some reason. (3)

25. X-Men: Apocalypse
Enjoyed this more than I expected to, but then I was quite drunk. Some enjoyable scenes but overall considerably less than the sum of its parts. Jennifer Lawrence looked bored and really phoned it in. (5)

26. Rambo: Last Blood
Cheap, nasty and Stallone looks like a special effect. Boy, those Mexicans are just plain evil aren't they? All of them. (4)

27. World War Z
Enjoyable but slightly toothless for a zombie film. (6)

27. Triple Threat
Low budget Kung Fu action thingy with that bloke, that other bloke and a third bloke, plus some white guys. Good fights, amusingly bad at times but didn't live up to the potential of the leads. (6)

28. Knight & Day
Tom Cruise is smarmy. Cameron Diaz is ditzy but sexy in a PG kind of way. The special effects are ropey as fuck. But it was better than i though and l expected it to be utter garbage. (6)

29. As Good As It Gets
Hadn't seen this in years and i I really enjoyed it all over again. Very 90s but charming, funny and Jack Nicholson. ( 8 )

30, 31 & 32. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Extended Cuts)
Family favourites, still stand up, the second one is the best but why didn't they just get the fucking Eagles involved at the start. I can only assume that the eagles are the John Terry of middle earth. (8, 9, 7)

33. Starship Troopers
First time I've watched this since I had it on VHS. Why on earth did I wait so long? It's utterly, utterly brilliant. How the fuck did Verhoeven ever convinced them to give him all that money to make a film about space Nazis? Must be one of greatest satires ever made. (9)

34. I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Intense, atmospheric and overall successful adaptation of the book - really unsettling throughout with some fantastic performances.
( 8 )

35. Knives Out
Great fun, with a brilliant cast delivering some great lines. Hugely enjoyable. ( 8 )

36. The Last Jedi
Entertaining and spectacular, but too long and marred by a few pointless scenes and characters. Still light years better than any of the prequels. (6)

37. Enola Holmes
Millie Bobby Brown is great in this amusing, charming and fun adventure that's a little too long but doesn't outstay it's welcome. (7)

38. RED
Retired superspies foil conspiracy in average action comedy with Malkovich the stand out turn. (6)

39. Murder on the Orient Express
Entertaining and stylish adaptation by and starring Branagh. I hope he follows it up with Death on the Nile, because I really enjoyed this far more than I thought I would - fantastic cast too. (7)

40. The Raid
Rewatch on BR with the lad, who rightly loved it. It's an absolute classic. (9)

41. Moneyball
I've no interest in baseball but thankfully didn't need any to enjoy this really well told and even heart warming at times story about the power of numbers and the little team that could (almost). 8

42. Mission Impossible: Fallout
Spectacular. Too long, but some phenomenal chases, fights, stunts and camera work tide you through the mammoth run time. Might be the best in the series. 8

43. Bloodshot
Bloodshit more like. Worth seeing for the hilariously inept transition during a chase scene from indoors London to what is quite obviously outdoors California - they didn't even bother to change the cars or licence plates. (2)

44. Joker
Well. My misgivings about them giving the character an origin story aside, this was a great bit of cinema with an absolutely god-tier performance by Phoenix. (9)

45. Aquaman
Fucking hell this is a bad, bad film. So very very bad in almost every way. Still, it's not as shit as Bloodshot so there's that. Or is it as shit? I'm not sure anymore. (3)

46. Total Recall (1990)
Unbelievable that this is 30 years old - well, not really because it wears its decade quite obviously. But. What a film. Still the absolute pinnacle of Arnies career, imo, and Verhoeven bosses it - I'm still undecided whether Arnie was in on the joke it not but in the end it doesn't matter. Too class straight action sci-fi movie it tongue in cheek dismantling of the genre, it work either way. See you at the party Richter! (9)

47. Spiderman: Far From Home
Holland is a great Peter Parker, Gyllenhall is s great villain and this is a fun action romp. (7)

48. Planes, Trains & Automobiles
An all timer. Surprisingly sweary and my favourite bit in the car at night still makes me laugh out loud. ( 8 )

49. Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban
I've seen all of these films many, many times and I think this is the best one. Great direction and I'm a sucker for the timey-wimey stuff. (7)

50. Avengers Endgame
Still love it, even though I've seen it multiple times. So many great comic book moments and a great send off for Iron Man and Cap. ( 8 )

51. Kingpin
Not as funny as I remember it being, but still pretty damn funny. Bill Murray's facial expressions alone make it worth a rewatch. 7

52. Last Christmas
Schmaltzy bollocks, but still better than I thought it'd be. The soundtrack is the best part of it, even though I'm not a fan of either Wham or George. 5

53. Hotel Mumbai
Extremely harrowing but well made account of the Mumbai terror attacks - absolutely blood chilling and notable for not portraying the killers as simple men of evil, rather as desperate, misguided and easily manipulated young men who carry out acts of extreme and undeniable evil. Dev Patel is excellent as ever. 8

54. Elf
Christmas classic, always great fun to watch with the family. 8

55. Ad Astra
Impressive visuals, a subdued Brad Pitt and some excellent set pieces combine to make this meditative sci-fi man on a mission film well worth a watch. ( 8 )

56. Die Hard
Still great. 9

57. Terminator: Dark Fête
Went into this work very low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised. Some superb action sequences make this by some margin the third best in the franchise. 8

58. The Dark Knight
The boy wanted to watch this as he's been playing through the Arkham games and I hadn't seen it for ages. Still really enjoyable, with Ledger stealing the film and some spectacular set pieces. As time passes though, I'm less and less of a fan of Bales Batman. 8

59. The Happiest Season
Lovely rom-com which is well written, funny and well performed and doesn't overstay it's welcome. Kirsten Stewart is great and the Christmas themed family get together, subsequent melt down and happy ending thoroughly warmed my cockles. 7.

60. RocketMan
Elton John biopic that doesn't shy away from the excesses of his long and interesting career, but does fail to address some of his questionable decisions (like playing SA at the height of apartheid). Egerton is great and the musical numbers are integrated into the film in quite a clever way. Enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. 7

61. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Still funny every time. Might be my all time favourite crimbo film. Chase's expressionsc anime are priceless. 9

62. The Death of Stalin
Second viewing and liked it more this time. Part hilarious, banal and snappy dialogue and part grim, violent and appalling atrocities it's a superb piece of historical comedy. 9.

63. Muppets Christmas Carol
Realised that I've never actually seen this all the way though. But it's really fucking good! God bless us everyone! 8.

64. Mulan
Great looking but ultimately very flat and uninspiring. 6

65. Soul
Visually stunning, funny and touching it's the best film Pixar have made for quite a while - really the only thing that marks it out as a kids film is that it's animated, but it really is one for adults. 9

66. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Great fun with RDJ chewing up the screen and Jared Harris being excellent as ever as Moriarty. Better than the first one. 8

67. Jumanji: The Next Level
Expected this to be garbage, bit like the first one I was pleasantly surprised. Plus, who doesn't want to see The Rock doing a Danny De Vito impression? 7.

Webbins

I'm in. Very much enjoy keeping the record. Just need to tie up 2019's viewing.

1. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Mick has another pop at his niece in another average sequel. 5

2. The Standoff At Sparrow Creek
Militia men linked to police shooting stand off in this tame whodunnit. 5

3. Hereditary
Family ties are stretched in this top notch ancestral nightmare. 9

4. Vice
Portly Bale and heavyweight cast highlight in this interesting yet unenthralling biopic. 7

5. Under The Skin
Scarlett Johansson picks up LUCKY SCOTTISH BASTARDS in Jonathan Glazer's audiovisual treat. 9

6. Hardcore Henry
Bonkers full on style over substance first person shooter. Fuck John Wick. 7

7. Little Monsters
Teacher, musician and kids battle zombie outbreak in this funny, cute zom-rom-com. 7

8. The Overnight
Amusing comedy as two couple's dinner date serves up some revealing truths. 7

9. Four Lions
Chris Morris' black comedy following hapless Sheffield jihadis and their radical aspirations. 7

10. 1917
Epic, raw and personal piece of filmmaking, technically amazing, outstanding cinematography. 8

11. The Disaster Artist
James Franco's ode to cult 'so bad it's good' film, The Room. 7

12. Us
Jordan Peele's very inventive, demon doppelganger, thriller chiller. 8

13. Accident Man
Standard Scott Adkins actioner. Needed less Guy Ritchie-esque scripting and more action. 5

14. 8 Mile
Eminem turns in decent self performance in this semi autobiographical rap tale. 7

15. Blue Ruin
Hobo avenges parent's murder in this indie revenge thriller. 7

16. The Death of Stalin
Iannucci's satirical Soviet comedy, whilst witty, didn't sustain my interest. 6

17. Midsommar
Swedish set pagan cult folk horror. Quirky, unnerving and excellent. 9

18. The Social Network
Zippy and engaging nerdographical story of Facebook. 7

19. Pumping Iron
The Terminator and The Incredible Hulk face off in muscley man doc. 6

20. Wet Hot American Summer
Limp Damp Camp Comedy. 2

21. Soul Men
Ageing soul singers hit the road in this one note comedy. 5

22. The Warriors
Super cool, gangs of New York survival classic. I can dig it. 8

23. Dragged Across Concrete
Formulaic but still decent crime thriller with Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn. 7

24. Friday
Ice Cube's classic rewatchable hood comedy. A lighter day in the hood. 8

25. The Babysitter
Tongue in cheek, hugely implausible but fun, teen slasher. 6

26. The Crazies (2010)
Reasonably effective Romero remake. Toxin leak turns Iowa residents into batshit mentals. 6

27. Snowpiercer
Class clash on the eternally engined express. Likeable but I expected more. 6

28. This Is The End
Seth Rogan and friends play fictionalised selves in this witty apocalyptic comedy. 6

29. Spotlight
Engrossing factual drama as Boston Globe reporters uncover Catholic Church child abuse scandal. 9

30. Olympus Has Fallen
Die Hard at the White House with Gerard Butler as John McClane. 6

31. Fighting With My Family
Heart warming rise to fame of Norwich WWE wrestler, Paige. 7

32. Pet Sematary
Stephen King's creepy resurrection horror adaptation with bonus Herman Munster. 6

33. Argo
Gripping account of the 'Canadian Caper' exfiltration of US diplomats from Iran. 9

34. Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal excels in neo-noir thriller as borderline psychopathic nightly video newshound. 8

35. London Has Fallen
Hugely implausible, loud, explosive and mildly entertaining sequel to Olympus. 6

36. Gran Torino
Eastwood is at his gruff, bigoted best in this redemptive drama. 8

37. Heathers
Cult dark comedy sees Ryder and Slater play high school antiheroes. 6

38. Fruitvale Station
Powerful retelling of Oscar Grant's last day, and his fatal shooting by metro police. 8

39. Jarhead
Bored marines in desert tale. Decent but doesn't convey a strong message. 7

40. Friday Night Lights
Energetic American football drama following the Permian Panthers crack at State Championship. 7

41. Looper
Solid and entertaining, yet thankfully uncomplicated sci-fi time travelling action yarn. 8

42. The Night Sitter
Cheesy, cheap and cheerful, schlocky Kickstarter horror. 6

43. Trainwreck
Brilliant Amy Schumer penned comedy. Funny, touching, great performances and excellent cameos. 9

44. Cold Pursuit
Chilly, mildly effective Liam Neeson revenge thriller with a dark humourous undertone. 7

45. It Follows
Quality, super creepy, 'is it really about the AIDS?', stalkahorror. Loved it. 9

46. I, Tonya
Effective tragicomic account of Tonya Harding and the Nancy Kerrigan kneecapping. 8

47. The Girl On The Third Floor
CM Punk wrestles with renovating a haunted house in scare free horror. 6

48. Thunder Road
Incredibly touching comedic melodrama with a great central performance by Jim Cummings. 9

49. Daddy's Home
Tittersome comedy with Ferrell and Wahlberg facing off as competing fathers. 7

50. Cocktail
TC shakes his way through this cheesy but entertaining, 80s boozy romp. 7

51. Gerald's Game
Wife battles inner demons and a bed in this Stephen King adaptation. 7

52. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
Keanu still kicking ass in this well worn but still thrilling formula. 8

53. Maniac (2012)
Interesting remake sees nutjob mannequin man Elijah Wood desperately seeking scalps. 7

54. Blockers
Entertaining, eager kids vs. overbearing parents, coming of age comedy. 7

55. Christine
Good King adaptation. Psycho car is restored by nerd, bad shit ensues. 7

56. Ghost Stories
Not essential Brit ghostly horror tale. A few jumps but nothing spectacular. 6

57. Haunt
Funseekers seek fun in freakshow nutjob infested haunted house. Immediately regret it. 7

58. Thoroughbreds
Dark, disaffected teen murder pact drama. Maybe better than my attention allowed. 6

59. Happy Death Day 2U
Entertaining Groundhog Day killer sequel with a debatable sci-fi bent. 7

60. The Art of Self-Defense
Jesse Eisenberg's timid accountant takes up karate in this darkly comic tale. 8

61. Savage Dog
Scott Adkins 1959 Indochina set beat em up. Average story, good choreography. 6

62. Juliet, Naked
Gentle romantic comedy. Girlfriend meets boyfriend's reclusive music idol, stuff happens. 6

63. Hush
Superior home invasion thriller. Crossbow wielding creep preys upon deaf, mute woman. 8

64. Daddy's Home 2
Slightly weaker sequel with Gibson and Lithgow as the dad's dads. 6

65. True Romance
Misfit newlyweds pursue a kooky romance whilst outrunning the Mafia. 8

66. Manchester by the Sea
Excellent reflective drama based on grief and redemption. Strong Casey Affleck performance. 9

67. Raising Arizona
Zany babynapping Coen comedy. Cute performance from Hunter and a vintage Cage. 8

68. Backdraft
William Baldwin smoulders and Russell crackles in this fiery brotherly firemen drama. 7

69. A Cock and Bull Story
Coogan and Brydon star as themselves in this film within a film. 7

70. Searching
Unique and original missing person thriller that plays out entirely on computer and phone screens. 8

71. Empire Records
Cult 90s time capsule centred on hip record store, its assorted teenage employees and father figure boss. 7

72. Hustlers
The amazing looking J.Lo highlights in this overhyped yet entertaining, scheming strippers tale. 7

73. Beerfest
Shallow, goofy yet still entertaining beer fuelled hijinks from the Super Trooper boys. 7

74. Too Late
Decent pulpy noir blend of multi threaded storytelling, cool music and snappy dialogue. 8

75. Captain Fantastic
Isolated, anti-capitalist father and kids journey to liberate deceased wife in this highly emotional, engrossing and thoroughly excellent drama. 9

76. Child's Play (2019)
Semi successful modern reboot of the Chucky franchise. New AI Chucky is legit creepy, a couple of good deaths however the second half falls away. 7

77. 24 Hour Party People
Entertaining whistlestop Tony Wilson/Factory Records/Hacienda/Madchester tour biopic. 8

78. Lady Bird
The excellent Saoirse Ronan stars in this touching coming of age drama as a frustrated teen looking to escape her Sacramento upbringing and overbearing mum. 8

79. A Vigilante
Olivia Wilde plays an abused wife helping liberate others in abusive relationships whilst contending with her demons. 7

80. Maniac Cop
Old skool slasher lite. Apeshit undead rozzer causes bother in NY. Stars Bruce Campbell and that guy Tom Atkin. 6

81. Get Him To The Greek
Very decent comedy from the Apatow stable. Great performance from Brand and Diddy puts in a show stealing turn. 8

82. Society
Billy from Baywatch finds family life is a beach in this amusingly dark social satire. 7

83. Ma
Slightly far fetched and under cooked, wronged woman, psychological revenge thriller. Could have been much better. 6

84. Killer Joe
A finger lickin' turn by McConaughey as a cop-cum-contract killer in this decent but not deep, darkly comic crime caper. 7

85. Southern Comfort
National Guardsmen are treated to some traditional southern hospitality whilst on manoeuvres in Cajun country. Great location and Ry Cooder soundtrack. 7

86. Quarantine
Semi successful found footage horror REC rip-off/remake. A ~~corona~~ rabies like virus runs amok in a sealed apartment block. 6

87. Coffee and Cigarettes
Jim Jarmusch directed set of talky vignettes with famous faces, all centred around the titular items. Some conversations work, some don't. 6

88. Horrible Bosses
Reasonable boss revenge comedy that has few laughs. Likeable leads, always a bit questionable when Spacey turns up now though, Farrell is good but underused and Aniston brings some va va voom. 6

89. One Cut of the Dead
Quirky and original, Japanese indie zomcom within a one take live broadcast within the making of the zomcom that's within the one take live broadcast... with the actual making of the making of the zomcom at the end. 7

90. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Tarantino in restrained mode with his ode to Hollywood, but an enjoyable ensemble film that is no less well crafted and acted. 8

91. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
An ok Star Wars film. It's not terrible but it treads its formulaic path like the previous two in this trilogy with some aplomb and wraps up quite emotionally. Still nothing can capture the original trilogy's magic. 6

92. The Slumber Party Massacre
Apeshit double denim driller killer nutjob bothers pyjama party teens in this bad but brilliant 1982 slasher. 6

93. Chopping Mall
Apeshit malfunctioning killer Johnny 5 mallbots bother late night revellers in this bad but entertainingly bad 1986 tech trauma. 5

94. The Guest
Handsome chap from Downtown Abbey befriends family of dead soldier friend, but is he all that he seems? Top 80s inspired thriller with a very good soundtrack. 8

95. Sorority House Massacre
Apeshit asylum nutjob escapes looney bin and hunts sibling whilst carving up sorority sisters. Bit of a weak Halloween clone with a dull psycho. 5

96. Slumber Party Massacre II
Apeshit guitar drill wielding rock 'n' roll nutjob bothers survivor from the first film at another PJ party in this poor Nightmare on Elm Street inspired supernatural sequel. 5

97. The Hills Have Eyes
Inbred cannibal nutjobs bother decent all American family lost in the desert in this classic Wes Craven horror. 7

98. Pool Party Massacre
2017 tongue in cheek homage to the Massacre films. I liked this, entertaining trash, cheap and cheesey and quite funny in parts. Certainly better than some of the films it has been influenced by. 7

99. Triangle
Mildly successful déjà vu/groundhog psychological seafaring thriller starring Melissa George, just lacking tension and bite. 6

100. Tomboy
Surgeon reassigns hit'man' Michelle Rodriguez with beard into Michelle Rodriguez without beard after popping surgeon's bro, our 'Chelle bit put out. Odd and bad, but I could watch Rodriguez all day. 5

101. Crawl
Alligators bother crawlspace imprisoned father and daughter during hurricane in this thrilling creature feature. 7

102. Wishmaster
Cheesy, dodgy effects laden, fantasy slasher horror with Wes Craven on production duties. Not amazing but saved by Andrew Divoff in a gloriously hammy turn as the titular djinn. 6

103. When Harry Met Sally
First watch for me. Gentle, witty and touching romantic comedy about the chance acquaintances of two friends destined to be lovers. Crystal at his charming and driest best, Ryan at the peak of her cutest before superbitch took over. 8

104. Pretty Woman
Great chemistry between Gere and Roberts drives this materialistic yet heart warming romcom. Gere is charming yet assertive as the super rich businessman and Roberts, as the hooker with a heart, reminds us what a naturally gifted actor and insanely beautiful woman she was at only 21. 8

105. Pontypool
A language borne virus interrupts a radio station’s day in this Canadian horror. More reliant on describing the action through Stephen McHattie's very good central performance as the DJ than seeing it, this wasn't quite the zombie fest I hoped it would be. 6

106. Daniel Isn't Real
Young troubled Luke locks away his destructive imaginary friend Daniel, only to release him later as an adult to sinister effect in this decent psychological horror. 7

107. Triple Threat
Martial arts heavyweights, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Tiger Chen, Scott Adkins and Michael Jai White showcase their disciplines in this shallow but well choreographed actioner. 6

108. When A Stranger Calls
Bobbins 2006 home invasion thriller remake. The opening 20 minutes of the 1979 original (I've not seen, but it inspired Scream's opening) was expanded into the whole film in this version. Light on terror and tension, the stress instead comes from the constant ringing of the bloody phone. 4

109. Red Eye
Peaky blinder gives the lovely Rachel McAdams grief in Wes Craven's pacy airborne thriller. 7

110. Blood Quantum
The indigenous folk of a First Nations reserve discover immunity to the undead plague in this interesting Canadian set zombie fest. 7

111. A Most Violent Year
Scrupulous but ruthless heating oil firm boss refuses to compromise his ethics in the face of violence from his competitors. Compelling eighties set crime drama with a strong cast. 8

112. ~~Contagion~~ Coronavirus: The Movie
Eerily prophetic and paranoia inducing batpig turbovirus ensemble movie. Great surfaceatography. 7

113. Resolution
Odd, interesting but unconvincing, indie horror but not horror curio. Man imprisons addict friend in squat in a bid to clean him up, weird stuff happens. 6

114. Dead Shack
Weekend vacationers find family loyalties run deep when they cross the living Lauren Holly and her undead family in this goofy and original yet flawed zomcom. 6

115. Cobra
So cheesy, so 80s, so bad, so Stallone. Peak Sly growls his way through this dark thriller as the titular cop whilst bagging the sweatiest bad guy in all moviedom and bedding Brigitte into the bargain. 6

116. The Stepfather
Quite enjoyable, better than your average TV movie apeshit stepdad thriller. Weirdo serial killer charms his way into the affections of a family but not everyone is convinced. Features a younger Amber 'shit the bed' Heard. 7

117. IT
Rewatch of this and the impact is lesser. It's still mostly entertaining but not scary, and whilst nu Pennywise is effective, I prefer TC's turn. 7

118. Come to Daddy
Black comedy horror with Elijah Wood as an estranged son visiting his 'father'. 7

119. All Hallows' Eve
Continuing the clown theme, I wanted to check out Art in Terrifier but best to start with his first full film appearance in this low budget, and very patchy horror anthology. 5

120. Knives Out
Very entertaining, ensemble murder mystery. I can enjoy Craig in this were I don't always gel with his Bond. Strong cast throughout. 8

121. Terrifier
Apeshit big top nutjob Art the Clown carves up Halloween in this lo-fi splatfest. 5

122. IT Chapter Two
A solid cast helm this overproduced and overblown sequel. More money and more effects does not a scary film make. 6

123. In Search of Darkness
An exhaustive four hour exploration into the 80s most iconic horror films. The actors, directors, make up artists, music... a complete history of this golden horror period. 9

124. Final Exam
Bobbins early 80s slasher with a non descript nutjob, crappy kills and barely a drop of claret spilt. F for Fail. 4

125. The Peanut Butter Falcon
Top turns from Gottsagen and LaBeouf and a solid supporting cast in this brilliant, heartwarming tale. Beautifully filmed and a great soundtrack to crown it off. 9

126. A Perfect Getaway
Decent Hawaii set thriller. A series of murders interrupt two couples tagging along on a paradise trail. 7

127. VFW
A strong cast of 'that guys' star as 'Nam vets facing off against a drug dealer and his horde of rabid addicts in this entertaining, schlocky survival thriller. 7

128. Miami Vice
Michael Mann's style rich but substance poor adaptation of the 80s TV show sees Crockett and Tubbs posing as big time drug runners. Pales against the likes of Heat and Collateral. 5

129. Grimsby
Shite. Film and location. 3

130. A Private War
A strong Rosamund Pike performance in this solid biopic of The Sunday Times war reporter Marie Colvin. Pike successfully conveys the mental and physical toil of such a dangerous job. 7

131. The Wedding Singer
One of my faves, for its quotable lines, its perfectly pitched cameos, funny script, strong Sandler and cute Barrymore turns... and at the end of the day it's a love story with a happy ending and who doesn't like those? 8

132. The Debt Collector 2
Scott Adkins high kicks his way through this entertaining sequel as French and Sue reunite to recoup some more big monies. 7

133. Night School
Kevin Hart goes back to school to atone for yadda yadda... I like KH but this is a weak vehicle for him. A couple of laughs but story and script get a big F for Fail. 5

134. Joker
A very interesting take on Joker's origin story. Phoenix is mesmerising and gives an incredibly nuanced performance that outweighs the film as a whole. 8

135. Zombieland
Rewatched as a prelude to the sequel. Less fresh than first time round obvs but still good, wholesome zed slaying fun with Woody, Jesse and a (rubs thighs) fresh faced Emma Stone. 8

136. Zombieland: Double Tap
Very entertaining and as equally fun sequel. More Woody, Jesse playing Jesse and an (rubs thighs) older, more saucer eyed Emma Stone. Some great cameos too. 8

137. A Nightmare on Elm Street
The OG, Wes still brings the chills, and Freddy still delivers the kills. Tina's ceiling death scene still a horror standard, great practical effects, they literally don't make them like they used to. 8

138. The Gentlemen
A decent Guy Ritchie flick, which almost feels like damning with faint praise, but it's a typical yet superior Ritchie yarn. Some strong performances all round, Colin Farrell a stand out. Not deep or particularly clever but good entertainment. 7

139. Misery
Turbo nutjob no.1 fan Kathy Bates puts the hammer down with a great turn as she nurses stricken author James Caan back to 'health'. Superior King adaptation. 8

140. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
Freddy returns after his defeat to Nancy and possesses a fresh faced Jesse so he can wreak more terror on Elm Street. I was unaware there was this fabled homoerotic subtext running through this when I last watched many years ago but after this rewatch I can see how much it pervades the screen. The pre kill shower spanking a highlight. 7

141. Jackass: The Movie
Johnny K and the gang hit the big screen with their wholesome jokes and japes. A first watch for me, I would tune in to catch the TV show on occasions but the big screen adventures passed me by. Dated now the whole prank genre has moved on but it's a fun watch, and who doesn't want to see Steve-O try to cross an alligator infested pool with chicken hanging outta his ass? 7

142. The Talented Mr. Ripley
Matt Damon plays a very adroit role as the unassumingly dark and twisted Ripley in this solid Minghella thriller. 8

143. Guess Who
Beautiful Zoe Saldana brings home Ashton Kutcher much to the shock of the always watchable and sorely missed Bernie Mac in this race relations themed comedy. 6

144. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Entertaining follow up to Freddy's Revenge, great cast of characters including young Patricia Arquette and Larry Fishburne, fantastic kills that play on the victim's hopes or fears and Freddy's cutting one liners (Welcome to Primetime, BITCH!). 8

145. Sleeping with the Enemy
The lovely Julia Roberts battles to escape the clutches of Patrick Bergin's abusive 'tache in this standard 90s thriller. 6

146. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
A weaker follow up to 3 as the Dream Warriors are bothered by Freddy again. Filmed during the '88 writers strike so suffers in that regard and from losing Patricia Arquette in Kristen's role. 6

147. Dirty Dancing
A cute, starry eyed yet determined Jennifer Grey and a brooding, hip thrusting Swayze, shimmy and shake their way through this iconic 80s chick flick. Such a great uplifting ending. 7

148. The Gate
80s horror lite featuring the child form of Stephen Dorff, as he haphazardly opens up a demonic portal in his garden. Decent poster, dull film. 5

149. Candyman
Clive Barker adapted horror with a stronger than your usual slasher story. I remember this causing a stir at school back in the day as the urban legend of repeating 'Candyman' in the mirror five times made its way from screen to East Leeds' classrooms. 7

150. Ready or Not
Very entertaining comedy horror/thriller, as a newlywed bride is initiated into a wealthy family via a deadly game of hide and seek. 8

151. Double Jeopardy
Ashley Judd's wronged woman is a determined force for justice in this mildly entertaining 90s thriller. 6

152. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Caine's conning cad and Martin's overacted fraudster combine to comedic effect in this amusing 80s comedy. 7

153. Child's Play
A revisit to the OG Chucky having watched the reboot earlier in the year. It flips from mildly creepy to perilous horror once Chucky comes 'alive', and offers a very effective finale. 7

154. The Lighthouse
Odd, multi thematic, astonishing and beguiling piece of work from Robert Eggers. Two excellent performances from RPatz and Dafoe, the latter stealing the show in a towering effort, Oscars have been given for less. 9

155. M.F.A.
Art student Francesca (daughter of Clint) Eastwood is raped, turns vigilante and finds new levels of inspiration for her work in this flawed but interesting thriller. 7

156. An Officer and a Gentleman
Iconic slice of 80s cinema. Romance, drama, tragedy, redemption, Louis Gossett Jr's Oscar winning turn, hit soundtrack and Richard Gere in his white naval aviator suit, classic. 8

157. Babylon
Gritty, racially charged 1980 film, set around Brixton, centring on the reggae/sound system scene and the character of Blue, played by Aswad's Brinsley Forde. Great soundtrack and patois infused script. 8

158. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle
Apeshit, chip on shoulder nutjob Rebecca de Mornay poses as nanny to wreak vengeance on idyllic family. Pretty effective 90s psychological thriller from L.A. Confidential's Curtis Hanson. 7

159. Parasite
Poor family infiltrate wealthy family as their domestic staff in Bong Joon-ho's class themed black comedy. An excellent piece of filmmaking. 9

160. Quadrophenia
Young disaffected Jimmy struggles to find his identity in this iconic slice of British mod subculture. Scooters, parkas, suits, rockers, Leslie Ash up the alley, a brooding Sting... all stitched together by The Who's belting soundtrack. 8

161. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Steve Martin and John Candy are bound together by fate in this heartwarming and funny John Hughes vehicular driven comedy. 8

162. Queen & Slim
A Tinder date takes a tragic turn as a black couple are forced to go on the run. A strong and modern BLM themed take on the Bonnie and Clyde tale. 8

163. Groundhog Day
Cynical weatherman Bill Murray does his thing again and again and again... his heart warmed by Andie Macdowell in this top notch tittersome time loop tale. 8

164. Black Christmas
Apeshit, loft squatting nutjob bothers sorority sisters including uberbabe Olivia Hussey in this iconic 1974 festive slasher. 7

165. Jack Frost
Apeshit, homicidal maniac transforms into apeshit, homicidal snowman (yes really) and bothers small-town in this cult but most definitely shite, straight to video, chiller. 4

166. Secret Santa
Low budget, low production, low brow, gore soaked shitfest. A disparate and dysfunctional family gather around the festive dinner table with devastating effect. 5

167. Anchorman
Introduced the mother to this on what is probably my 5th or 6th watch. Took me fifteen minutes for it to get its hooks in again but once it does it's gold. Arguably Ferrell's finest but ably supported by Rudd, Carrell, et al. The mother enjoyed it so a result. 8

168. Home Alone
Arsehole family abandon Kevin, an apeshit demonic sadochild, leaving him to mercilessly torture and terrorise hapless burglars, Harry and Marv. 8

169. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
Arsehole family, having learnt nothing from last time, lose Kevin, the apeshit ankle biter, leaving him to further continue his sick reign of terror over the hapless heisters. 8

170. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
Heartwarming festive tale as Dickie Attenborough brings belief in Santa to the people of New York. 7

171. Jingle All The Way
Schwarzenegger hams his way through a very silly film using a Turbo Man doll to poorly convey its message. It gets an extra point for the 'Put the cookie down' line. 5

172. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Chevy Chase rants, raves and deadpans his way through Christmas with the family in this classic festive comedy. 8

173. Die Hard
Best Christmas film. Best action film. Best 80s film. Best Bruce Willis in a vest film. 9

174. Love Actually
I have this irrational hatred of this film that only dissipates for the two hours it takes to watch it where I decide it's not that bad, actually quite heartwarming and then I go back to hating it after it's finished. 7

175. Trainspotting
Iconic, 90s clash of music and drugs following Renton and his group of fellow Edinburgh smackheads. 8

176. Bad Santa
Billy Bob Thornton's safecracking Santa, drinks, fucks and robs to forget his severe depression in this hilarious and rude comedy. 8

177. Scrooged
Bill Murray's obnoxious, arrogant TV exec gets visits from ghosts of Christmas past, present and future in this tour de force Murray update of the Dickins classic. 8

178. Hot Fuzz
Pegg's supercop and Frost's bumpkin bobby team up to defeat middle England in this funny filth film. 8

monkey

In. Going to try for one a week.

The Daddy

1. The Lighthouse. Eggers certainly knows how to do atmosphere! That was quite something.

2. Dora and the Lost City of Gold. Fairly entertaining tomb raider-lite for kids.

3. Knives Out. Catch the mouse, Squash his head, Put him in the pot. Decent film, in no way related to the Radiohead song.

4. Abominable. Nice looking but fairly average animated shiz.

5. The Irishman. Started in 2019, finished in 2020. Great film, not as good as goodfellas.

6. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Solid feel-good Tom Hanks playing a guy that’s probably quite a lot like Tom Hanks.

7. Ex Machina First time I’ve watched this since the initial release. I remembered most of it really well, a testament to how good a film it is.

8. Jagten (The Hunt) Mads on top form. Tough watch this, especially in my line of work. Very emotive.

9. 1917. Don't know why they couldn't just call it quarter past seven like everyone else. Good film though, well worth seeing at the cinema on the nice seats with the extra big screen.

10. Frozen II. The kids remained interested for the majority of it, so it must be ok.

11. Ford v Ferrari (Le Mans '66). Looked good, sounded good, solid car racey drama. Enjoyed it.

12. The Shining. You are the caretaker. You’ve always been the caretaker.

13. Jojo Rabbit. Taika Waititi's third best film, probably. But then again, maybe it's his best. Maybe.

14. Doctor Sleep. Solid enough follow-up to The Shining. Different tone, although the last 1/5th was a bit dodgy.

15. Shaun (Shorn!) the Sheep: Farmageddon. Typically well made and enjoyable Aardman fare.

16. Last Christmas. What the fuck was this shite? Fucking predictable and it doesn't even work, conceptually or practically. Even the wife has been ranting about how bloody stupid it was.

17. Dragon Quest: Your Story. It's Dragon Quest (V), the game, but in film form. If you like that sort of thing you'll like it. I do like that sort of thing.

18. Dolittle. Did little for me, but the boy seemed to enjoy it, and the girl was interested for a bit too.

19. Dark Waters. Dark and soapy, and poisonous. Need to throw some pans out, just in case. Good film, didn't know about the case.

20. Jumanji: The Next Level. Mindless trash, but a reasonably enjoyable adventure nonetheless.

21. Richard Jewell. Interesting story, I have very little memory of the Olympic bombing incident but this was a good telling of the ridiculous approach that the FBI took to solving the crime.

22. Sonic the Hedgehog. Actually not bad really. The kids loved it.

23. Hustlers. Bag or irredeemable shite. It may well be based on a true story, but it's a story of shits.

24. Pinocchio. Absolute classic, and the kids enjoyed it too.

25. The Gentlemen. Very Guy Ritchie, which isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

26. Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Compelling viewing, a beautifully shot tale of love and loss.

27. The Breakfast Club. Never seen this before. Still stands up as a good representation of the travails of youth, despite the all the 80s-ness.

28. 12 Angry Men. Absolutely class, deserving of such a high place in IMDB's top 250 list (which is the reason I decided to watch it). This film should be necessary viewing for all younglings, especially in the US. There only seemed to be about 8 or 9 angry men though really.

29. Before Midnight. Me and wife watched the first two parts ages ago, we found Hawke a bit annoying. He's still annoying, but this is pretty masterful filmmaking from Linklater, every detail is considered. A great finish to a nice trilogy.

30. Life of Pi. UHD rewatch. Looks and sounds lovely, though I felt like I should've been reading the book instead of rewatching the film.

31. True History of the Kelly Gang. Got a bit bored of this, though it did pique my interest in Ned. Turns out most of this film is a rough "interpretation" as is only very loosely based on fact.

32. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Wow! What a brilliant film, and the score is just perfect. Will be hitting the others in the trilogy at some point.

33. The Personal History of David Copperfield. Nice but not great. Enjoyed this quirky retelling of the Dickens classic.

34. Palm Springs. Good fun, enjoyed. Don't look up what happens before you watch it!

35. Dr Strangelove... Never seen this before, so the UHD release was a good opportunity to tick it off the bucketlist. Great satire!

36. Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. Watched with the boy, but some of it was genuinely funny!

37. The Princess Bride. Another classic UHD remaster, watched with the boy, who instantly fell in love with it. He even started saying "as you wish" whenever I asked him to do stuff.

38. The Report. Good dramatisation of dodgy post 9/11 CIA torture methods. Essential Viewing along with...

39. Official Secrets. UK version of The Report. Spoiler: Blair's a warmongering twat!

40. Mulan (1998). Never seen this before, so gave it a bash. Really enjoyed it.

41. Blade. Didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would, I remember loving this back in the day. Maybe it's Blade 2 I remember so fondly. Still, solid vamp action from Snipes.

42. Flash Gordon. UHD Rewatch. GORDON'S ALIVE!

43. Back to the Future. UHD Rewatch. A very well done transfer to 4k, still a top tier film. Will be revisting the sequels asap!

44. Mulan (2020). I understand the issues around the film, but it's a solid action adventure nonetheless.

45. 300. UHD Rewatch. SPARTANS! PREPARE FOR GLORY! Classic, looks and sounds great on the remaster.

46. V for Vendetta. (4k rewatch). This has aged well, worryingly so given the last year. You can see where some conspiracy nuts get their ideas from. A really compelling watch, hadn't seen it since it came out so it still felt fresh.

47. Scrooged. Haven't seen for many years, good fun.

48. It's a Wonderful Life. Never seen this all the way through, only ever snippets when it's been on TV. A timeless story of the necessity of socialism in society. Or something. I think it's less of a Christmas film than Die Hard though as it's only Christmas at the end.

49. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Classic.

50. Soul. Nicely done grown-up Pixar.

51. Lady Bird. This has been on my pile of shame for years, glad to finally get around to watching it.

52. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I've always refused to watch this version as I think the Gene Wilder one is close to perfection. Depp is annoying but Kudos for sticking so closely to the book where the original took a lot of liberties.

53. The BFG (2016). Another Dahl classic adaptation (I've been reading the books with the boy), sticks reasonably close to the book for the most part, for better and worse.

54. The Green Mile. Haven't seen this since release. It's long, but it's so good!

55. Lord of the Rings Fellowship... (Ext). (UHD rewatch). Immense. I just want to curl up on the sofa and absorb myself in the entire trilogy, but the kids won't let me.

RedDave2

1. The Intern

First film of the new year. Not a particularly good film by any stretch but de Niro is oddly charming as the elderly Ben. I was strangely engaged through most of it.

(5)

2. Attack the block

Fun movie, kind of like an urban dog soldiers. Been meaning to watch this for a while and glad I did

(7)

3. Hellboy (2019)
Not sure what drew me to this last night but its not nearly as bad as I expected. It isn't great, but I enjoyed it and its a pity Harbour wont get another go at the role.

(5)

4. The Untouchables

Seriously amazing film. So many classic scenes, generally good acting (de Niro and connery are a cut above though) and a really awesome score. De Palmas finest.

(10)

5. Ride Along

Kevin Hart and Ice Cube go through the motions in a typical, bland american comedy. I like some of Harts stand up and he came across well in Jumanji but he aint enough to save this.

(3)

6. John Wick: Chapter 2

I'd seen this a while ago but couldnt remember much. So with Wick 3 on netflix, a refresher was needed. Still quite good fun but its much more one note than the first. It seems a much more simple plot and while there is world building going on, it's quite silly. Still, its good fun and I'm ready for the next chapter.

(6)

7. Inside Out

Watched this as a family movie and it brought out a lot of questions from my 6 year old daughter. It's a wonderful film that avoids being preachy while delivering some insight into the turmoil of growing up. One of the best mid-credits gags as well.

(9)

8. John Wick 3: Parabellum

Maybe one too many times back to the well for Keanu. Some great action scenes cant save a character (or actor) who is so basic. Keanus inability to show pain, fatigue or weariness ruins what was already an over cooked turkey. How much better would Montenson or Mikkleson been in the role? The Wicks world doesnt just creak but collapses under the layers of stodge.

(4)

hylian_elf

2020 off to a good start so far. Currently watching Thirst by Park Chan-Wook.

GooberTheHat

I'll try to do this properly this year too. I didn't record every film I watched last year, but when I did I enjoyed trying to squeeze a review down to 12 words.

My scoring :

1. Offensively bad. A film that makes me properly angry at the film makers and actors.

2. A terrible film. Multiple issues, how did this get made?

3. This is really bad. There is the germ of a good film in here somewhere, but this isn't it.

4. Some serious issues with plotting, writing or cinematography. Not worth it.

5. Overall a bad film, but not without some positives. I wouldn't watch it again though.

6. Not a great film but I got some enjoyment from it despite its flaws. I wouldn't choose to watch again, but wouldn't actively avoid it if it was on.

7. Really good fun, or a very interesting concept. It doesn't quite work but it's still a really enjoyable watch.

8. A great film. One I'll happily return to again and again.

9. Almost perfect in every way, an all time classic.

10. Perfect, there is nothing about the film that I could find fault with or want to alter in any way.

1. The Aeronauts - The RSC does Gravity in Victorian England. Well acted. Not for me. [6]

2. Le Mans '66 - A bostin film despite the barmy accent. Bale and Damon are great. [7]

3. Fury Road - Cinematicaly stunning high octane roller-coaster with some fantastic practical effects. [8]

4. 1917 - A very simple story shot very well. Didn't live up to the hype[7]

Wookienopants

I’m in for this.

Uncle Buck

I miss John Candy

Captain America : The Winter Soldier
Still my favourite Marvel movie with my favourite Marvel hero. It’s a fun spy movie.

Mission Impossible Fallout

Some top tier A class Cruise action. Loved it for the fifth time!

Orgazmo

Now you’re a man, a maaao maaao maaan you’re a maaaaaaaannn! Now you’re a man!

Angel Has Fallen

The previous two films were shite, fell asleep in the last one. This one though was good fun!

Ad Astra

Brad Pitt deals with his daddy issues by adventuring to Neptune. Was pretty good but felt inferior to Intersteller

Long Shot
Really liked this. Funny and Seth Rogan was not as annoying as I normally find him.

hylian_elf

1. Thirst - 1st Jan
Park Chan-Wook does it again, this time with a vampire story.
[8]

2. 1917 - 18th Jan
Went in expecting a well-made but somewhat dull war film. I got a very entertaining and incredibly made one. Made me want to see/read a ‘making of’ straight away. Brilliant.
[9]

3. Parasite - 8th Feb
Bong Joon Ho’s best yet. The commentary on divisions in class and social status is obvious, but I think there are more subtle underlying messages here too. Plan to succeed could be one of them.

It is so watchable too. It helps that the movie has great pacing and is full of surprises, and has some great, often comedic, lines. Couple that with some brilliant cinematography and you bet I could just watch this again pretty soon! The scene where

Spoiler:

, I loved the long shots and the different angles, the curves and leading lines.

A film that makes you think and is also beautiful and fun. A rare beast indeed.
[10]

4. The Lighthouse - 8th Feb
The picture format was weird at first but works. Enjoyed it mostly, but found my mind wandering at points and I wasn’t sure what the film was trying to be. It’s somewhere between no-genre-or-story art film and an actual mystery or horror film. So felt a bit lost in itself.

Having said that, it’s beautifully shot, has some great eerie moments and good performances. There’s enough strangeness and intrigue here to enjoy and does warrant a viewing. Decent enough.
[8]

5. Jurassic World - 15th Feb
Somewhat enjoyable silly crap. Always nice seeing dinosaurs / big CG monsters.
[5]

6. Dunkirk - 16th Feb
I found this mostly dull and forgettable dotted with some decent scenes. That music and sound though - very good although I’m never a fan of continuous background music.
[6]

7. The Dictator (2012) - 20th Feb
Apart from a couple of disturbing or slightly dull jokes/scenes (14yo boys and the baby delivery), this was thoroughly entertaining and in places downright hilarious. Really enjoyed it.
[7]

8. Uncut Gems - 21st Feb
Really enjoyed this and felt for main character. Sandler was brilliant. He should act more often. Surprisingly edge of the seat for me at times.
[8]

9. Tonari no Totoro - 22nd Feb
Ugh, American dub. Watched it on Netflix with the kids. Thought it would be my daughter’s first foray into anime... but she watched it at Xmas at her nan’s!!!

It’s as brilliant as it has ever been. Timeless magical family fun.
[9]

10. Rush Hour 2 - ??? Feb
I love the first film and regularly quote from it, could probably watch repeatedly. I remember enjoying the sequel, but on repeat watch, it’s actually shit. But GOD DAYUM ZHANG ZIYI IS SO UTTERLY FUCKING GORGEOUS I LOVE HER AND WANT TO GIVE HER BABIEZ
[3]

11. Tower Heist - ??? Feb
Another random Netflix choice. I had forgotten that I had seen this before until about 5 minutes in but decided to carry on anyway. The definition of average.
[5]

12. Star Trek (2009) - 29th Feb
Enjoyable reboot with some absolutely stunning space shots.
[7]

13. Kiki’s Delivery Service - 1st Mar
Ugh, American dub. Not too bad I suppose. Watched it on Netflix with the kids. Not as good as I remember from yonks ago, but still very charming and a great fun coming of age story. Kids liked it, but obviously not as much as Totoro.
[7]

14. Tomb Raider (2018) - 3 Mar
Stupid as expected, like the game. But I actually still kinda enjoyed it and liked how it followed the game (reboot) somewhat, and the gamey things like the rock axe me the traps and the climbing etc. Even the QTE style escape sequence. Average movie slightly elevated a little by that.
[5]

15. The Last Witch Hunter - 3 Mar
I should stop just watching any shit on Netflix. Specially shit with Vin Diesel in it.
[3]

16. Pacific Rim Uprising - 6 Mar
I continue to watch any shit on Netflix. This was pointless and gash. Bad plot, terrible exposition, and not even enough giant kaiju and fights to be entertaining.
[4]

17. Sonic the Hedgehog - 7 Mar
Took the kids to see this. Actually kept my attention. Carrey is as annoying as ever, but there was one funny moment and it was mildly entertaining. Kids loved it.
[5]

18. Booksmart - 7 Mar
Had this on my watchlist for a bit. Coming of age teenage high school comedy drama thing that reminded me a lot of Superbad. Just not as funny or memorable, but still good.
[8]

19. Lady Bird - 11 Mar
Another high-school coming of age drama type situation. Hard to describe how or what I felt when watching this, bit or deeply resonated with me and was surprisingly emotional. Almost a 9.
[8]

20. The Grandmaster - 11 Mar
I do love me some Kar Wai Wong. Thought this was better than the Donnie Yen Ip Man series, although it takes a different approach. Full of beautifully lighted shots and typically melancholic like with Wong’s other works. The fights aren’t as realistic as Ip Man, but are well choreographed. I think it would’ve been great as a longer and more epic film, but it’s good as it is.
[8]

21. Porco Rosso - 13 Mar
God damn American du.... actually, I thought the dub was really good for an anime. This one was a bit lost on the kids although daughter did pick up on the "olden days miso" point. But they still enjoyed it more than Kiki. But less than Totoro. So same as me then! Good kids. I enjoyed it more than I remember when I first saw it aeons ago. Great Ghibli.
[8]

22. A Quiet Place - 13 Mar
Been waiting for this to show up. Sister was raving about it. It was a good balance of intrigue and tense horror. But it was also fairly typical and cliched. Enjoyed it so that counts for it.
[7]

23. Contagion - 14 Mar
Didn't enjoy it much the first time. Almost feels like I'm watching the news now.
[7]

24. Shutter Island - 17 Mar
Scorsese does complex psychological thriller. Great cast and performances.
[8]

25. Rush Hour 3 - 17 Mar
Shit but not as shit as 2.
[4]

26. Marriage Story - 18 Mar
Driver is brilliant. Expected a little more from it but still a decent watch.
[7]

27. Kingsman The Secret Service - 20 Mar
Pretty standard spy action flick.
[5]

28. Heat - 20 Mar
Still an all-time classic. Can never tire of watching this.
[9]

29. Once Upon A Time In America - 24 Mar
My personal favourite of all of Sergio Leone’s work. A true epic and a masterpiece. The haunting and bittersweet melancholic music by Morricone goes perfectly with the film and makes it even greater.
[10]

30. Get Smart - 26 Mar
I like Carrell but this was a below average turd that only got one or two laughs from me.
[4]

31. The Killing of a Sacred Deer - 27 Mar
Bloody weird film. I think I would’ve found it more convincing and enjoyable if the main family actually behaved like a proper real family. And why was everyone so kinda wooden? I found none of the acting convincing at all. And there was nothing in the shooting and camerawork and editing that made it any interesting. Only the music. Still, it gets a couple of points for the central plot/theme.
[6]

32. The Past - 28 Mar
My 3rd Asghar Farhadi film, didn’t enjoy it as much as A Separation or The Salesman, but still a good family drama film. His films seem to be steeped in so much realism and always relatable, creating a lot of empathy for the characters. There are a couple more of his films I want to see.
[8]

33. Escape Plan - 28 Mar
Arnie and Stallone prison escape flick. Didn’t have high expectations for this but it turned out to be pretty enjoyable albeit typical.
[6]

34. Amour - 29 Mar
Another French family drama with no background music. An elderly couple’s lives become strenuous and difficult when the wife becomes ill and the husband takes care of her. Very touching, reminded me of my mum and dad before he passed away.
[8]

35. Platoon - 29 Mar
Not as good as I remember. There are better war films but this does still hit you with the horrors of war etc.
[7]

36. The Fugitive - 30 Mar
Typically Hollywood film. Harrison Ford is good but Tommy Lee Jones is on top form.
[7]

37. Superbad - 8 Apr
A great rewatchable high school coming of age movie with some hilarious moments. McLovin is the greatest.
[8]

38. Nostalgia - 10 Apr
Tarkovsky’s films are nothing, if not beautiful. This slow pondering film lost me a bit with what it was trying to say or show, which I later read is mostly about missing one’s home country and being a bit at unease with said home country. Nonetheless, it was strikingly beautifully shot, and very dreamlike. The best of the 4 films of his I’ve seen in that respect, possibly. But ever so slightly dull.
[7]

39. Castle of Cagliostro - 11 Apr
Dub was passable. A great, kid-friendly, funny and fun adventure. Kids loved it.
[8]

40. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - 8 May
Ooh no movie for almost a month?! Anyway, this is Miyazaki at his best. Entertaining, beautiful, and with thematic depth. Straight in at number 2 for both kids (after Totoro) and rightly so. Next up is probably Castle in the Sky.
[9]

41. Laputa: Castle in the Sky - 17 May
Kids enjoyed this. I do like it, but not that much. It’s ok I suppose.
[7]

42. Star Wars Ep IV: A New Hope - 24 May
Kids have seen this before but don’t remember it much. As good and fun as it ever was. Looked so gorgeous on Disney+ on BoneX. Who the fuck is McClunkey?!
[8]

43. Star Wars Ep V: The Empire Strikes Back - 7 June
Easily the best of the lot. Easily. Never a dull moment, an expertly crafted and paced episode. The lightsaber duel is among the best with the best lines.
[9]

44. Star Wars Ep VI: Return of the Jedi - 13 June
This is so dull in many places. The whole Solo rescue, everything on Endor... well that’s most of the film! Saved only by the great McDiarmid and the father son exchanges (spoken and lightsaber).
[7]

45. Star Wars Ep I: The Phantom Menace - 21 June
This was excruciatingly painful to sit through. It gets worse with each viewing (not that I watch often). Jar Jar is the most annoying and pointless and useless character ever. Midichlorians and all that other bullshit. So much happening by chance. So much wrong with this film. Glad to see the Duel at the end still holds up. At least it gets better from here.
[4]

46. Star Wars Ep II: Attack of the Clones - 27 June
Still a bad script and acting. It was watchable unlike the previous film, and was mildly engaging and entertaining from start to finish, so there’s that. It’s amazing how badly the CGi has aged though, in all these Star Wars films.
Explaining all the politics to the kids though. Ugh.
[5]

47. King Kong vs. Godzilla (US, 1964) - 30 June
An odd one, this. I think the Jp original is included in the special features disc, but the US remake/recut is on the main movie disc. It was funny in places and quite comic, but the short takes/cuts and the odd UN news sections and interviews just seemed out of place. And I hate dubs. Mostly entertaining but I think the original would be better. I suspect the transfer/quality is poor as I read a lot of the original cut’s negatives were lost and a lot of it had to be cobbled together. Will watch at some point.
[5]

48. Mothra vs. Godzilla - 1 July
This was better. More flowing, better paced, better production values and acting. Thoroughly enjoyable.
[6]

49. Ghidora, the Three-Headed Monster - 2 July
Fun, but lacks depth. Just silly monsters fighting in a silly laughable way.
[6]

50. Star Wars Ep III: Revenge of the Sith - 4 July
Easily the best of the prequels, and on par with ep VI even. I liked it. CGI hasn’t aged well, looks terrible in places. And still has some stupidness, but so do all of the episodes.
[7]

51. Star Wars Ep VII: The Force Awakens - 11 July
Yes, it’s by the numbers and plays it extremely safe and is just a mish mash of the first couple of films. But it’s also fun and watchable and sets things up well. I still like it.
[8]

52. The Prestige - 24 July
Haven’t seen this in ages. Was waiting for Netflix to update so turned over to Prime and there it was so I put it on.
Had forgotten enough of the movie to really enjoy it again. As with most movies with twists, it’s never the same after the first time. Still, this is probably second behind Memento in my Nolan list. Gotta rewatch Interstellar. Hopefully that’s on one of these streaming services.
[8]

53. Three Colours Blue - 25 July
The Three Colours trilogy has been sitting on my shelf for so long that I’ve just realised that it’s the DVD boxset. I think I bought it before Blu-Rays were a thing! As a result, picture quality is dogshit, but...
The film is a beautiful masterpiece. Can’t explain my thoughts on it much, but it’s very thoughtful and contemplative. Looking forward to watching White and Red later today/tomorrow.
[9]

54. Three Colours White - 25 July
A much more typical film, but still very much enjoyable and a story expertly told. So that’s Liberty and Equality done. Onto Brotherhood.
[8]

55. Star Wars Ep VIII: The Last Jedi - 8 Aug
So I still think this is decent. Well, as a stand-alone movie type situation. So I’ll score it in two ways.
[8] as a stand-alone
[7] as part of the whole

56. Knives Out - 8 Aug
Pretty enjoyable whodunnit, don’t get to see many of these.
[7]

57. Madadayo - 14 Aug
Moving tale of a retired professor and his former students helping him through retirement and looking after him. Not among Kurosawa’s best and loses its way a little towards the end, but it did almost make me shed a tear.
[7]

58. Star Wars Ep IX: The Rise of Skywalker - 15 Aug
Absolutely atrocious, so much silliness and stupidity, yet still manages to me mildly entertaining.
[5]

59. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - 6 Sept
Thought the kids might get bored due to lots of exposition and not as much action (until the end), but they were fine. I still like it.
[7]

60. Memories of Murder - 12 Sept
Worth watching just for the best drop kick(s) ever committed to celluloid. I didn’t actually know this was based on a real-life case. Apparently Bong kept very close to the details of the actual case. The film is great: funny, entertaining, beautiful, and with a dose of scathing commentary on S.Korea’s ability to deal with a complex serial murder case and their authorities/departments. Would love to watch it again soon. And that last scene/shot. So good. Overall, still sits below Paratise and Mother for me.
[9]

61. Ashes of Time (Redux) - 13 Sept
Recut, re-edited, rescored etc as original print was lost. Won’t know how much worse this is to the original, but it is still strikingly beautiful and mesmerising as Wong Kar Wai and cinematographer Christopher Doyle tend do excel in. Confusing at first, but soon gets going. Didn’t know it’s a prequel to a Chinese novel, maybe that would make it easier to digest and appreciate. Nonetheless it was entertaining enough and gets an extra point for the beauty.
[7]

62. Zodiac - 18 Sept
Maybe I shouldn’t have watched this so soon after Memories of Murder. It’s good - watchable, ok performances, interesting; but just not as good.
[7]

63. Three Colours: Red - 19 Sept
What a beautiful and thought provoking movie. Possibly the best of the trilogy. Gorgeous to look at and a beautiful soundtrack.
[9]

64. The Great Silence - 19 Sept
12 years to the month since I left my last job and a colleague had given me the DVD when I left. Just watched it! Pretty average spaghetti western, but Morricone does his thing. Shame the music doesn’t always fit the scene. Still, it becomes fairly watchable after a crap start.
[6]

65. Invasion of Astro-Monster - 24 Sept
Far better than the last few Godzilla films. This had much better acting, pacing, and was a generally watchable film. The monsters still looked silly and there were a couple of ridiculous Zilla bits - one where he does a victory dance which is so out of place and ‘character’, and another where he looks like he’s fighting a boxing match. But otherwise this was good. Enjoyed it.
[7]

66. The Peanut Butter Falcon - 2 Oct
Pretty standard and cliched, but well executed. I didn’t hate LeBeouf so that must mean something.
[7]

67. The Life of Oharu - 3 Oct
Beautifully shot and choreographed sad tale of a woman suffering injustice at the hands of a male-dominated and socially divided society. Amazing. Almost a 10.
[9]

68. Akira - 8 Oct
4K rerelease on the big screen, and what an experience it was! Some blurry bits here and there but overall picture quality was decent, but that sound! That booming soundtrack! Amazing!
Akira was my very first anime movie - back in the early ’90s when it aired on national TV, it introduced me to anime. Still has it. Still (almost) the best. Time I invested in the manga.
Can we get Ghost in the Shell next please?!
[9]

69. Roma - 18 Oct
Another beautiful and sad tale in B&W about some female hardship. Amazing that Cuaron was responsible for so much of the film - directing, writing, producing, shooting, jointly editing. What a guy. Top film.
[9]

70. Borat 2 - 23 Oct
Started off a bit shit, got better. The hidden camera bits were good, some shocking stuff showing up America. That Giuliani interview, yikes.
[6]

71. Weathering With You - 21 Nov
An utterly beautiful anime, although many things are unexplained. Makoto Shinkai continues to produce stuff I love.
[9]

72. Ebirah, Horror of the Deep - 21 Dec
Entertaining enough kaiju film that takes its time to show us the monsters, who continue to behave and fight in a laughable manner - not sure if that is completely intentional or not. Godzilla and Ebirah fighting as if they were playing tennis with rocks was funny even if it wasn't meant to be.
[7]

73. Son of Godzilla - 24 Dec
This started off promising with some commentary on world population and resources, but didn’t follow through. It descended into something quite rubbish. The baby Godzilla was so laughable and utterly pointless and baffling. And again they make the monsters do some strange fighting. Playing football with a rock and kicking it at the enemy by? What?! Hoping next film (Destroy All Humans with Honda back at the helm) will be better.
[4]

74. Solo - 27 Dec
Fun enough, but completely unnecessary. Some lovely space shots at least.
[6]

hylian_elf

1. Thirst - 1st Jan

Park Chan-Wook does it again, this time with a vampire story.

[8]

Gremill

The Sound of Music
I've never seen it and I don't generally like musicals, but this was on and it's one of Vicky's favourites so I chose to subject myself to it - plus it's set in and around Salzburg which I have family connections to. Surprisingly I enjoyed it, almost entirely down to the iconic songs and Julie Andrews performance which is lovely. What an astonishing voice she had.

cockbeard

I didn't do the master list thing, oops, will try to remember to do that this time. I did enjoy condensing thoughts down to dinky one sentence reviews as well. Given my natural state is either stream of consciousness rants or one word uberbitchy it was a good exercise

1. True Romance
Not watched in years, still as good as it ever was, far prettier than I ever give it credit for as well [10]

2. 1917
Bloke goes for a walk, basically Lord of the Rings but better [8]

3. Terminator - Tampon of Fate (or whatever)
Seriously, female dialogue written by committee is even worse than written by a shit man. Terminator likes soft furnishings, fuck off [5]

4. Last Christmas
Surprisingly enjoyable, wltm the GoT girl, Brixton and Covent Garden both look lovely, hard to believe london tourist board not involved [7]

5. Le Mans
Two actors I very much enjoy, cameras set to spectacle, but not a lot else. Characters don;t grown at any point, didn;t understand what the post script added, make it shorter, end after the race [7]

6. Fish Story
I should be bored of it by now, but nope, it's still probably the best power ranger/rockumentary/apocalypse movie I've ever watched. My 12 above was silly [11.5]

7. Face
Having posted the soundtrack in the Britpop thread I decided to watch this again. Still so bloody good, proper document of it's time, even if the politics are a touch heavy handed. Some really well done setpieces and really well fulled characters, not to mention a few nice easter eggs that don't distract too much [9]

8. Shallow Grave
Watching straight after (an admittedly poor image quality) Face and it's difficult to believe that this is the older film. So many of Boyle's shots have been reused and become a Hollywood staple these days, that as a piece of cinema this seems really very current. Watching alongside Face and again I was transported to that time, cash is king and everyone has loads of it, nostalgia isn;t always terrible [9]

9. Eagleeye
What the hell was that, action movies need more action, but I just couldn't get past the "sonic trigger", don;t they realise that white noise contains all frequencies, so that explosive is liable to go off at any time at all [5]

10. The Accountant
A rewatch, and on second viewing the early autism seems a bit heavy handed, but the playing of it in the current time was very good, so I can see why it needed to be spelt out, as many with no exposure might have missed it. Some good action as well [8]

11. Sonic The Hedgehog
I enjoyed this, but apart from one thing I could have got by with just the end credits, which I super enjoyed. However was well worth watching purely for Jim Carrey, he raised this film several points. I hated him as a kid, at least until Cable Guy and Man In The Moon, and whilst this is nowhere near those heights, it did make me think, wow I've missed this bloke. More films for Jim plox [7]

poprock

Wild Rose
Glasgow, country music and redemption. Surprisingly affecting and Jessie Buckley is fucking brilliant.

Wookienopants

Captain America : The Winter Soldier
Still my favourite Marvel movie with my favourite Marvel hero. It’s a fun spy movie.

jdanielp

I'll try to remember to follow through and post here following my Twitter reviews more often this year...

I've been enjoying reading all yours in any case.

1. The Gentleman Best 'Guy Ritchie' Guy Ritchie film since Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. [7]

2. Jojo Rabbit Don't see it expecting an out-and-out comedy, it's so much more than that. [9]

3. 1917 Spectacularly produced but frustratingly disjointed pseudo single-take First World War experience. [8]

4. Seberg Intriguing if meandering activism biodrama, although Kristen Stewart is as watchable as ever. [6]

5. Just Mercy Emotive civil rights drama concerning shockingly recent criminal injustice in the Deep South. [8]

6. Waves Intoxicating, if occasionally ponderous, stream of consciousness examination of a family in crisis. [8]

7. Bombshell High profile but surprisingly unengaging exposé of systematic sexual harrassment at Fox News. [6]

8. Spies in Disguise Reasonably enjoyable if relatively unmemorable animated spy spoof. One for the pigeon fanciers. [6]

9. Cats Nonsensically weird yet oddly compelling musical extravaganza featuring a mixed bag of songs. [5]

10. The Private Life of David Copperfield Inventively engaging Dickens adaptation with an excellent cast. Iannucci's best film so far. [8]

11. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Surreal yet disarmingly wholesome encounter between a journalist and a US national treasure. [8]

12. The Rhythm Section Lively and atmospheric if generally somewhat implausible anti-terror amateur assassin revenge thriller. [7]

13. Uncut Gems Uncomfortably intense, sporadically amusing but often incomprehensible financial risk and personal breakdown drama. [7]

14. Richard Jewell Slow burning and unambiguously caricatured, yet broadly likeable and intriguingly terrifying scapegoat biodrama. [7]

15. Queen and Slim The unexpected aftermath of a first date makes for a memorable road trip. [8]

16. Parasite Classy social drama which starts brilliantly but goes a little over the top. [8]

17. Birds of Prey Better than Suicide Squad but a similarly messy confection of action and music. [5]

18. Underwater Underwhelming disaster/horror mashup that does at least start and end reasonably well. [5]

19. Sonic the Hedgehog Unremarkable video game adaptation which isn't the car crash it could have been. [5]

20. Poltergeist A friend badgered me to watch this so I did. It was ok. [6]

21. Emma. Beautifully produced and well cast, if somewhat slow burning and slight, Austen adaptation. [7]

22. Greed Intriguing if scattershot satirical examination of fast-fashion and the extremes of inequality. [7]

23. True History of the Kelly Gang Raucous, if a little misleadingly titled, semi-biographical crime drama about Ned Kelly. [7]

24. Dark Waters Powerful, if fairly slow burning and deeply depressing, corporate negligence class action biodrama. [8]

25. The Call of the Wild Reasonably enjoyable adventure although the CGI dog is almost as distracting as Ford. [6]

26. Dark Encounter Intriguing low-budget family disapperance mystery which unfortunately starts and ends really poorly. [5]

27. Onward Emotionally engaging but predominantly rather irritating family quest within a contemporised fantasy world. [6]

28. Sacrilege Laughably poor low budget horror which sacrifices any sense of originality for cliché. [4]

29. Military Wives Upbeat true-life drama about the formation of a choir on an army base. [7]

30. Portrait of a Lady On Fire Slow-burning yet sporadically incendiary period romance between a painter and her subject. [9]

31. Calm With Horses Intense crime thriller in which a non-family gang member considers his position. [8]

32. After the Storm Meandering drama about a failing writer come private investigator reconnecting with his family. [7]

33. The Mystery of Picasso Insightful mixture of live/stop motion/behind the scenes creation with the artist. [7]

34. High Life Uncomfortable deep space mission drama, although I fell to sleep towards the end. [5]

35. The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea Randomly explicit crime drama set in a small eel-farming backwater in Greece. [5]

36. The Awakening of the Ants A beleaguered mother tries to balance the demands of family and self-fulfilment. [7]

37. Lourdes Slow-burning and well-observed drama about a group seeking out faith healing. [8]

38. Force Majore Uncomfortable relationship drama set during a family skiing holiday in the French Alps. [8]

39. The Silence Beautifully shot and quite intriguing, if somewhat dissatisying, relationship and emotional isolation drama. [7]

40. Chaotic Ana Pretentious but genuinely creative drama exploring art, humanity and recollection of past lives. [6]

41. Bacurau Bizarre thriller about a Brazilian village that suddenly loses contact with the world. [5]

42. The Rite Psychological drama about a judge interviewing a trio of actors - boring TV movie. [4]

43. The Whalebone Box Abstract art film in which the titular object is returned to its origin. [5]

44. Neighbouring Sounds Slow burning drama about the residents of a street in a Brazilian city. [7]

45. Autumn Sonata Intensely emotional drama about the fractured relationship between a mother and her daughter. [7]

46. The Daughters of Fire Strangely boring despite being actually pornographic lesbian feminist road trip through southern Argentina. [5]

47. Primer Lo-fi time travel thriller which maintains just the right level of plausibility. [8]

48. Sisters Unintentionally (?) hilarious psychological thriller about a journalist who believes she witnessed a murder. [6]

49. Eva/Eve An arrogant Welsh writer becomes infatuated with a manipulative French woman - melodrama ensues. [5]

50. Ema Visually striking dance drama about a couple suffering a breakdown in their relationship. [6]

51. Southland Tales Spectacularly incomprehensible and self-indulgent follow up to the (accidentally?) brilliant Donnie Darko. [4]

Gremill

John Wick 3
Much better than I thought it was going to be, despite it being basically a video game - although it was quite self aware too which helped. Great action though, nice long static shots with some hilarious deaths and a higher than average number of nut-shots, punches and bites.

Wookienopants

Mission Impossible Fallout

Some top tier A class Cruise action. Loved it for the fifth time!

HawBawJaws

So far in 2020 I've watched:

shazam

Mindless pish.

star wars:rise of skywalker

Utter tosh, load of shite. Only redeeming feature was watching it in IMAX. If I'd paid for the ticket I'd be after a refund.

Wookienopants

Orgazmo

Now you’re a man, a maaao maaao maaan you’re a maaaaaaaannn! Now you’re a man!

Wookienopants

Yes I’ve had a film day

The Daddy

1. The Lighthouse. Eggers certainly knows how to do atmosphere! That was quite something.

ShabbyMcCrabby

1. The Greasy Strangler
Starting the year off right. Like Napoleon Dynamite turned up to 11 with added sex and violence. It takes a deft touch to make something so weird and gross actually work. I liked it more than I probably should have
[9]

2. Little Women
Completely and utterly splendidly excellent at times. But not quite the whole time for me. Florence Pugh is a gem.
[8.5]

3. Jumanji: The Next Level
Not quite as zippy as the first but still pretty fun and funny in places
[6]

4. Zombieland: Double Tap
I enjoyed this more than I thought I might. Helped by the leads all being great, charming actors. Shame the final section comes from nowhere is kinda rushed.
[7]

5. Free Fire
A fun, small movie with excellent sound design. I just wish the film set up the spacial side of it a bit better, I struggled to know where people were when it was just shots of people shooting out of the frame.
[7]

6. Xmen: Dark Phoenix
Starts quite well. Made me wonder why it got such bad reviews. Then it managed to fail in everything it attempted to do due to poor writing and terrible execution.
[3]

7. Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
Even though Katniss is a rather annoying character I have enjoyed this series. There's been some cool direction that's fancier than these films usually are. It doesn't quite pull it all off to finish but it's not too bad. Shame PSH couldn't be in it more, he really elevated Part 1
[6]

8. JoJo Rabbit
Taika does his thing again. Touching and funny and nice to look at. I think Boy is still my fave of his.
[8]

9. 1917
There's a part of me that thinks I should drop the score a point for a few reasons but it comes back to me needing to compose myself when asked if I liked it as the credits rolled because I was close to a mild emotional breakdown. A stunning achievement.
[10]

10. Always Be My Maybe
Wanted something light to start my day and this was a good choice. Doesn’t do anything new but it’s funny and fun to watch.
[7]

11. Centurion
A 3 hour LotR style epic poorly written and crammed into an hour and a half. Neil Marshall should stick to small scale stuff.
[4]

12. Raiders of the Lost Ark
Dated a bit but I can see why I loved it as a kid.
[6]

13. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Dang this is a dark film. Can’t really imagine how my parents let me watch this as a kid.
[6]

14. Brightburn
A woefully put together film with an interesting concept. None of the characters react appropriately throughout the film.
[3]

15. Peanut Butter Falcon
A nice little heartfelt movie. Skips about a bit in terms of pacing but it works.
[7]

16. My Life as a Zucchini (Courgette)
Wonderful and sweet little animation with a slight hard edge too
[9]

17. Galaxy Quest
Still a classic. Only a few years after Jurassic Park it's amazing to see the progress they'd made in effects.
[8]

18. We Need to Talk About Kevin
Expertly made and quite uncomfortable. Lynne Ramsay is so good.
[9]

19. The Perfection
Probably a good idea for a film on paper but poorly executed
[5]

20. Underwater
I love this kind of thing. So much of this is excellent. The design is way Anime in a good way and the sets and effects are great. But it's a bit too lean for it's own good. I couldn't tell if it was designed that way from the off or if they had to cut down the time in the edit because it moves a bit too fast sometimes. Another 20 minutes at the start to set up the characters like they used to do in Sphere and Dante's Peak etc etc would have helped.
[8]

21. Slumber Party Massacre
A weird one this. It has some good writing and it feels like the female director is taking the piss out of slasher tropes but it's a bit too obsessed with making you jump all the time.
[5]

22. Detention
What the fuck did I just watch. I think it was a slasher made for millennials. Maybe? I can't even score it.

23. Spiderman: Into The Spider verse
"Can you imagine, a seahorse meeting another seahorse and making it work."
[9]

24. The Big Short
I still kind of didn't get what exactly happened but it was a fairly well told story. Kinda hate that filmmaking style though.
[7]

25. Terrified
Creepiness ruined by LOUD NOISES and LOUD SOUNDTRACK. Also poor characterisation. A bit of a shame. Made me jump though.
[6]

26. Ashburn Waters
Low low low budget Aussie horror film that I won tickets too. Glad I didn't pay for it. Wasn't all bad but needed to learn the "less is more" technique for its monster.
[4]

27. The Lighthouse
Probably my most anticipated movie of the year. Luckily it was worth it. God bless Ari Aster and Robert Eggers and the people that give them money. I wonder if he'll ever make a modern movie with modern dialogue.
[9]

28. Uncut Gems
Unlikeable people shout at each other for 2 hours and yet it's somewhat compelling.
[7]

29. Kiki's Delivery Service
Still a wonderful little film. Perhaps not as perfect as some of his others though.
[7]

30. My Neighbour Totoro
Perfection
[10]

31. A Dark Song
I liked most of what it was doing but I thought the script was fairly lacking. Random "cunt"s don't make for good writing.
[7]

32. Mom and Dad
A lesson in how to take a fun concept and ruin it by making a dumpster fire of a film.
[2]

33. Birds of Prey
Pretty fun and bright and colourful. Robbie does a great job in the role but the character seems to mellow as the movie goes along. It's also lacking some story drive overall. Plus too many licensed songs again DC.
[6]

34. Ladybird
Similar to Little Women in that it is completely and utterly excellent at times but not quite all the time. Very very good and well put together in how it moves through time.
[9]

35. Sonic
Unlike Pikachu this was more of a straight up average kids film instead of a good film made mostly for kids. Not terrible but not worth paying money for.
[4]

36. Memories of Murder
What an expertly made film. Korean cinema has been so good for so many years. A bit of a shame it took me so long to watch this. I'm sorry Tempy
[10]

37. Baywatch
What an intensely woeful movie. No plot, no jokes, terribly shot, bad language for no reason. Literally nothing good in it. Well apart from how ripped Zac Efron is.
[1] for Efron's abs.

38. Laputa
Probably the weakest of the Miyazaki Ghibli but that's not too say it's bad. Just is a bit shallow and rushed compared to his other stuff. Lots of ideas and visuals were carried into his other films it seems.
[5]

39. Song of the Sea
Beautiful little Irish animation film. It’s nice to see representation of different cultures folk stories too.
[8]

40. Nausicaa
La la lala la la la. La la lala laaaaa.
[8]

41. The Invisible Man
A well executed thriller horror. Really neat use of camera and blank space. Has that Leigh Whannel thing of not quite executing it all quite as well though.
[7]

42. Bad Boys For Life
Surprisingly entertaining. These guys do Bay better than Bay and it actually tries to say something about getting older.
[6]

43. Freaks
Hate films that just handheld the camera about for no reason, it makes low budget films feel cheap and thoughtless. Story is okay.
[3]

44. Office Christmas Party
I’m always curious with these US comedies. I’d like a screen prompt to show me when it’s supposed to be funny because without any actual jokes it’s hard to tell.
[3] Man I watch a lot of shit.

45. To All The Boys I Loved Before
Again Netflix are carrying the genres that have faded from main releases. This being a nice and mellow-y presented romance film. I thought it would be a bit "teen" in it's presentation but instead I think they're going for John Hughes but not quite getting there. Still, enjoyable stuff.
[7]

46. To All the Boys P.S. I Still Love You
Cute sequel to the first one that, like the first, it has a nice calm and reasoned style to it.
[7]

47. Millers Crossing
The Coens before they had that real Coen spark. I didn't know anything about it so was surprised it was a period thing. Not bad but didn't zing. Nice hats though.
[6]

48. Color Out Of Space
Slick schlock
[6]

49. Moonrise Kingdom
Not quite as solid as I'd remembered but still fairly pleasant. But also a little creepy with the kids.
[6]

50. The To-Do List
Another US comedy with funny people in it but no real jokes or comedy writing. Such a waste.
[3]

51. Onward
A story with a lot of cliched beats to it but still very enjoyable and some nice themes throughout. Lush animation tech too.
[7]

52. The Hunt
One of those films that tries to balance out it's lack of style or directing competency with violence. Not bad but a bit too meh with how it looks and the stock music.
[5]

53. Yesterday
A pleasant romp helped by having all them songs.
[7]

54. The Fall
A Bluray I like to revisit every now and then. Still a beautiful film and some lovely performances by Lee Pace and the young girl. I've possibly seen it too many times now though.
[7]

55. Cargo
Neat to see an original setting for a zombie film. Had some good ideas too but let down by poor direction choices throughout.
[5]

56. Logan Lucky
Not as tightly put together as Oceans 11 but still a lot of fun. Nice to have a movie where the characters all get along for the most part, no snark. Adam Driver is infinitely watchable too.
[8]

57. Before Sunrise.
Wonderful. I knew I should have watched this years ago.
[10]

58. Bowfinger
Not as funny as I'd remembered but still quite entertaining.
[6]

59. Before Sunset
Imagine being able to come back 9 years later and recapture the same magic. Just wonderful.
[10]

60. Before Midnight
If you cut out most of the stuff that involved the other people I think this would be another 10. It just dilutes it somewhat. The stuff with just them 2 is just as brilliant
[8]

61. Cats
Nothing can prepare you for watching this... this thing. I wonder if it would be an acceptable movie if the original show had a storyline or good songs. Or would the terrible directing ruin that too. The effects are great at times but always make you feel uncomfortable. I watched it in a zoom group so it made it somewhat bearable. I can't imagine just sitting through it normally.
[unscorable]

62. Guns Akimbo
An attempt at a Crank type high energy silly premise thing but not quite having the required pizazz to pull it off. Plus if your attempt at fake America is that poor you may as well just set it in New Zealand
[5]

63. Searching
Solid thriller set on a computer screen. Clever ways to get around that setup too. I do wonder why movies can't make news footage that looks like real news footage though.
[7]

64. Manhunter
80s Silence of the Lambs. Goes pretty well apart from the pop songs, maybe. Some very pretty shots and lighting/colour choices. Good Leckter (sic) too.
[7]

65. Okja
Not as tightly formed as his best stuff but still quite good. Some of the story threads felt a little unfinished at the end.
[7]

66. Fighting With My Family
An enjoyable, if cliched at times, wrestling story. Florence Pugh elevates everything she's in
[7]

67. 1922
A good film but not a great one. One of those films where it could be something special with some better directing chops but it's a good effort. Tom Jane does a good gruff farmer voice.
[6]

68. Instant Family
Much better than it has any right to be. Sweet but not saccharine. Funny but not falsely so, although it does flirt with the typical American comedy babble at times. It's held together by having a good heart. Helped by the fact that it's inspired by the director's life I think.
[8]

69. The Raid
Does anyone make fun martial arts/stunt movies? Jackie Chan was always my guy and I just can't deal with all the horrible knife violence in most modern fight films.
[5]

70. Paprika
Nolan wishes he had the flair for visuals or imagination that this has. The story does quite flow as well as I'd hoped though. The visuals make up for it mostly though.
[6]

71. Extraction
Solid action film with some nice sequences including the one main one being quite well done. Like with Raid and the John Wick films I have a bit of issue with the more realistic violence in these films that are meant to be more popcorn fair. I find it hard to get excited when people are people killed pretty realistically. I think that kind of 'death fidelity' should be saved for the Saving Private Ryan's and such.
[6]

72. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Shabby rates cynical Hollywood nonsense higher than widely regarded classics in Movie Record 2020 shocker.
[7]

73. Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark
A weird one. Typical tween scary movie setup but with a weird infatuation with the politics of the time. Neat creature design but very average execution of those sections. A bit of a missed opportunity.
[5]

74. Blue Ruin
Utterly excellent. I love watching early films by talented filmmakers. Really shows his craft here.
[9]

75. Pulse
Very creepy when it wants to be. Peculiar structure and some...interesting editing choices though. I'm not sure I followed where it was going at times. Tempy is gonna hate me.
[6]

76. Scanners
Some 80s movies age okay. Others... well not as much. ADR is very obvious and the story is fairly clunky. Makes me unsure whether to revisit The Fly. Don't want to taint it!
[4]

77. The Borderlands
Pretty darn good Paranormal Activity/Blair Witch type thing. Suckered me in anyway
[8]

78. Midnight Run
People love this film right? It kinda didn't do anything for me. It wasn't especially funny or exciting and De Niro and Grodin didn't have the best chemistry. This kind of film has been done so many times. Definitely not one of the better ones for me.
[5]

79. Fellowship of the Ring Extended
I really thought watching the blu ray version would make the film show it's age with the added clarity but it ended up making it look even better. Did they touch it up? Or is it just the strength of the visuals that hold it together? I just wish PJ wasn't so keen on that stupid 'dropped frames' effect, ugh.
[9]

80. Freeway
What the heck did I just watch? Reese Witherspoon was great in this weird dark comedy thing.
[5-8]

81. BlackkKlansman
A rather good film apart from the times that it's got some weird editing and writing choices.
[7]

82. Labyrinth
Still a classic. I'd forgotten how good the puppets and puppetry was in this, amazing work.
[8]

83. Only Yesterday
What a beautiful and beautifully quiet film.
[9.5]

84. Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears
Movie version of the tv show I haven't seen. Was a little naff but mostly fun
[6]

85. Horns
Close to a good movie but ruined by a bunch of bad creative decisions like flashbacks with vaseline on the lens and too many songs cutting in all the time. Radcliffe is good though.
[5]

86. The Chaser
Started off strong but then lost its way a bit as the blunt messaging seemed to overtake good storytelling.
[5]

87. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Not as solid throughout as I remember (ayo) but still lands the moments it intends and has a lot of fun effects and edits.
[7]

88. One Cut of the Dead
Wasn't sure where this was going at first and wasn't too impressed. Then it got fantastic.
[8]

89. The Faculty
Back when Rodriguez made good films. Scream does Bodysnatchers. Still fun and an amazing cast.
[6]

90. Cure
Excellently executed creepiness with an off-puttingly calm style.
[8]

91. Son of Saul
Haunting and harrowing. An incredible first film.
[10]

92. Jack Reacher
Sometimes you just need to watch a dumb but entertaining Hollywood action thriller.
[6]

93. Lincoln Lawyer
Sometimes you just need to watch a dumb but entertaining Hollywood court room thriller.
[6]

94. War for the Planet of the Apes
Could a horse carry a gorilla? Surely not easily. Not quite as good as the second film.
[7]

95. Serenity
It must have sounded like a good idea at some. How else would it have gotten the talent? Terrible writing all the way through and a bad message to end on.
[3]

96. Cam
Surprisingly good low budget thriller thing.
[7]

97. The Way, Way Back
A Little Miss Sunshine wannabe that goes alright apart from the parts that don't work so well. Almost could have been proper great but the good stuff is really good.
[7]

98. Rambo Last Blood
For a moment I thought it was going to go back to contemplative war veteran movie mode of the original. And then it doesn't.
[5]

99. Garden State
You could say it's just another cliched indie movie with all the trappings. Or you could say it's great. I think it's great.
[8]

100. The Dead Zone
Quite a good King adaptation. Some peculiar story pacing choices and a little dated in some ways but well acted.
[6]

101. Red Eye
Fun little thriller by Wes Craven. An easy way to kill some time.
[6]

102. The Two Towers Extended Edition
Amazing how well the effects still hold up. Helps to have so much practical stuff. Not as finely tuned as Fellowship. Best opening though.
[8]

103. Return of the King Extended
It's a bit too long at times but then when it's all wrapping up you really don't want it to end our want to say goodbye to those characters.
[8]

104. Ocean's 8
Not sure why this didn't really land. I need to go back and watch 11 to see if it's just a style thing or what. I think it's because it's all a bit too light on story depth.
[5]

105. The Others
Rewatch of this short, fun and kinda shlocky ghost story. Entertaining.
[7]

106. The Old Guard
Fun concept marred by woefully average and lazy writing. You never really feel like they've been alive that long.
[5]

107. Hamilton
Not sure why I didn't think this would be as good as everyone said it was but it was that good. Excellent choons. Only would have been better seeing live.
[9]

108. Clueless
Very funny. Only took me so long to watch because my sister used to like it so I had to hate it.
[8]

109. Big Hero 6
Rewatch to see if it was as average as I remember. Yes, it is. Good setting, typical story and fun character ruined by the laziest script ever written. Beymax saves it.
[5]

110. The Relic
Small scale Aussie horror about family and getting old. Solidly made and quite spooky even if not game changing in any way.
[7]

111. Memory: Origins of Alien
Starts strong then becomes a meandering meh. I hope William Linn manages to crawl out of his own ass someday, he seems to be way way up there.
[5]

112. The Platform
Pretty neat micro sci fi horror thing. More gruesome than I was expecting. Still no Cube though.
[6]

113. Palm Springs
A nice, easy, fun and funny watch. Recommended.
[8]

114. Doctor Strange
Rewatch. Think I enjoyed it more this time. "Mister Doctor?" "It's Strange" "Maybe" made me laugh. Gotta love Madds.
[6]

115. Watchmen Ultimate
Watched because I started the series and had forgotten things. It's not a bad movie but it kind of feels like it isn't what the Watchmen should be especially now the series exists. It should be more like that and less overblown and style focused and done with more conviction. The lines really don't land, apart from some they feel read.
[6]

116. Shawshank Redemption
It really is a very watchable movie, I enjoy it every time and it doesn't feel like over 2 hours.
[9]

117. Good Will Hunting
Was sad to see Robin Williams on screen for the first time in a while. Reminded me of how good a performer he is and how charismatic. Might have to go back and watch others of his I haven't seen.
[8]

118. Ronin
The car chases almost make up for the terrible Irish accents. Also the USA solving The Troubles is also a little troubling. But dang, those car chases. I wish more modern films did action sequences like this. Doesn't have to be much but when you know it's real and when it's shot well it's darn exciting.
[7]

119. From Up On Poppy Hill
Goro just doesn't have the touch like his father does. The ghibli style adds a lot of magic to it but the story just isn't put together very well with some iffy editing too. Still a nice watch though.
[7]

120. Going In Style
What you expect really. I kinda thought Zach Braff would add a little more pizzazz with the filmmaking though. It needed it as triple old guy energy isn't exactly attention holding.
[5]

121. Wargames
Not sure why I never watched this when I was young, probably would have been able to see past the average storytelling towards the end. Still mostly fun though.
[6]

122. Zootopia
I really enjoy this. The animation and design is superb and the commitment to jokes like the sloths is above most of what Disney attempts. It's just a shame the story is so linear and stock in how it progresses.
[8]

123. Wreck It Ralph
Pretty fun animation that doesn't really attempt to do anything new in terms of storytelling but, again, the setting and the commitment to it keeps it going. Watched mostly to get to the superior sequel.
[6]

124. Ralph Wrecks The Internet
Sure there's a lot of advertising in this but it uses it well and for some good visual gags like the tweets. I really like how the film goes for something different than the majority of current animation in it's messaging and themes instead of the usual 'bad guy' thing.
[8]

125. The Art of Self-defence
Quite interesting and funny exploration of masculinity. It possibly runs a bit long for the style of film it is but I found it entertaining.
[7]

126. American Pickle
Not unentertaining and funny at times but also doesn't really do anything interesting with the setting. Also has the same rhythm throughout which makes it a bit monotone.
[5]

127. About Time
Been a while since I've watched a Richard Curtis film but the WhiteGuyWriter-itis felt pretty strong in this one. I liked the final message but there were a few too many troubling things on the way.
[6]

128. Banff Film Festival - Climbing
Collection of climbing based shorts. Some really cool stories and beautiful scenery. Some people are stroooong!
[8]

129. Little Shop of Horrors
Good to see Rick Moranis on screen and with some fun songs. The puppet still impresses.
[7]

130. Black Water: Abyss
Pretty solid little croc thriller. Well until it blows it right at the end by going for too much when it could have just ended.
[6]

131. Possession
WTF
[9]

132. In Search of Darkness
I watched this in parts because 4 hours but it's a fun glimpse into 80s horror with some good interviews. Shame it wasn't a longer thing as some films were barely talked about. Almost took a star off for that one guy though. Ugh.
[8]

133. Pretending I'm Superman: THPS doco
Very lightweight but entertaining doc on skating and the influence of Tony hawk's Pro skater game. Just a shame it doesn't dig a little deeper.
[7]

134. The Muppets
Silly and fun. Makes me want to go back and see if the old ones hold up at all.
[6]

135. Sleepless in Seattle
Had been a while. Enjoyable but not sure about the logic of Meg Ryan's choices throughout this. Doesn't quite sell as well as the other classics where the 2 people actually spend time together.
[6]

136. The Rental
Pretty good little thriller/horror thing by Dave Franco.
[7]

137. Train to Busan 2
Well we knew it wouldn't be as good but change nice characters in a fun setting to paper thin characters in a cliched setting and make it look like a soap whilst also scoping outside budget and you're gonna have a bad time.
[3]

138. The Wave
What an amazing disaster film. Norway you cheeky devils. The sound design especially stood out.
[8]

139. A Cure For Wellness
What started as a visually stunning and mysterious film then became meandering and bland, then sleazy and weird but not in a good way. A shame.
[4]

140. You've Got Mail
Enjoy this over Sleepless, largely because they actually interact with each other for the bulk of the movie and Meg Ryan isn't a psycho like in the other one.
[8]

141. I'm Thinking Of Ending Things
Like a lot of Kaufman it gives a lot to think about and it's nice to watch something that lingers in the mind and makes you think. Didn't quite come off as good as his others but still enjoyed it. Probably shouldn't have watched it tired.
[8]

142. Pitch Black
Shows its age and budget in a lot of ways but still quite a bit of fun. Was a favourite back in the day.
[6]

143. Arrietty
The beautiful animation and art and realisation of the scale of the world almost make up for the lack of story or drive throughout the film.
[6]

144. The Dawn Wall
A rewatch but no less compelling. Formatting of the doco is a bit all over the place but the story and the footage keep you engaged.
[8]

145. Mulan
Visually quite nice with a lot of colour but bland writing and iffy structure in the action sequences make it just an average movie. It's better with the songs.
[5]

146. Moana
Stunning animation, amazing Linny Manny songs and only a few bad jokes make this a favourite of mine.
[9]

147. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Long time since I last watched this. Still a beautiful film and cool fights and nice storytelling.
[8]

148. The Crazies remake
I heard this was good. It really wasn't. Timothy Oliphant almost does enough to carry this but doesn't.
[4]

149. Spies in Disguise
Some stunning animation and CG tech is wasted on a very average and cliched story. The best stuff is the pigeon slapstick, which is excellent, but there is not enough of it.
[5]

150. Enola Holmes
One of those movies that you enjoy enough during but then after think about all the stuff you didn't really like about it. Shame they didn't pinch the wit of Fleabag as well as the 4th wall breaking stuff.
[5]

151. The Brothers Bloom
I was enjoying it for a bit but then I got really really bored halfway through. Con movies need to hold your attention and keep the twists and turns coming. Also the half-assed Wes Anderson style was pretty rubbish.
[3]

152. Twister
"He's not in it for the science, he's in it for the money!". Ah, what a cast delivering such schlocky lines. A classic.
[7]

153. Salem's Lot
Not bad for a TV thing but apart from the window stuff the rest is a little bit too clunky to really enjoy.
[5]

154.Remember the Titans
A pretty good story but the film is edited together a bit too snippy. Fun to see young Ryan Gosling and Hayden Pannitierre.
[6]

155. Three Identical Strangers
An interesting story let down by poor documentary making. The way it was presented was a bit meh, with lots of repeated snippets because the audience is dumb. Also the final message of the doco is pretty gross I thought.
[5]

156. Kung Fu Panda
Still pretty fun and funny. Nothing special but a nice relaxing watch.
[6]

157. 1408
Has a bad name but really not too bad of a movie. Mostly because of John Cusack's performance.
[6]

158. My Octopus Teacher
Some cunt tells an overblown story about hanging out with an octopus and how it taught him something but not really. Rather hated it even though the octopus was cool.
[2]

159. Final Girls
A fun premise but too much effort put into style without spending time on the writing.
[6]

160. Session 9
Some creepy imagery at times but never quite nailed it for me. I liked Borderlands better as a similar thing.
[6]

161. Kung Fu Panda 2
Better than the first? Yeah I think so. Shame the action choreography and direction doesn't hit the heights of the opening though. Some nice steady wide shots there.
[7]

162. Pontypool
Started strong with a much more professional look than I was expecting but then it couldn't deliver in the final half with poor execution.
[5]

163. Black Sheep
Pretty darn good horror comedy in the vein of Dead Alive. Quite funny and some good practical WETA effects.
[7]

164. The Ruins
Cliched set up but a fun and interesting setting with some good sequences and the right amount of gore. Shame the ending didn't do a little more.
[7]

165. Kung Fu Panda 3
A shame they threw away the storytelling and direction style of the first 2 to make a kinda low brow, wink wink, typical kids animation. Still funny at times though.
[4]

166. Rear Window
Stumbled into watching this again. Still a classic and amazing how well it all holds up apart from some visuals at the end.
[8]

167. Starship Troopers
Still a classic. Those effects hold up too.
[8]

168. Mad Max Fury Road
I really do love this. I think it's nearly cinematic perfection in how it achieves everything it aims to do. The action still gives me goosebumps and I love all the iffy parts for how they remind you it's still a scrappy film but with a strong vision throughout.
[10]

169. His House
Horror tropes and typical set ups can annoy me but when they're executed well, as in this, then I don't mind. Very good example of what kinds of themes horror movies can explore well.
[8]

170. Coming To America
I do love the nice easy pacing of movies of this era. It's a gentle comedy that's not overly outrageous one but an enjoyable one.
[7]

171. Deepwater Horizon
Very nicely made disaster drama thingy. Doesn't do anything special but what it does it does well.
[7]

172. Call Me By Your Name
Captures the feel of European summer very well and quite beautiful throughout. I didn't quite sink into it like you're supposed to I think and so it felt a little long, same as Suspiria.
[8]

173. The Beach House
I liked what the story was going for but the whole thing was a bit too amateurish to sell it in an interesting way.
[4]

174. Possessor
Now this is what I'm talking about. Obviously learnt a few things off his pops about the effectiveness of real effects and finding the right line for gratuity. Apparently there's an Uncut version which he says is the proper version. The non-uncut was still good.
[8]

175. The Gentleman
I did enjoy this but I couldn't also feel like the world has moved on from "lads lads lads" and that it was a missed opportunity to mix it up a bit. Most of these characters could have been women and it wouldn't have made a difference to the story but would have been more interesting.
[6]

176. Frozen
It's still interesting how big Let It Go is. I wonder why the kids love it over all the previous songs. Still a pretty good movie too.
[7]

177. Frozen 2
Some good, even great, songs marred by white saviour issues and a script that is a bit too 'wink wink'.
[6]

178. Synecdoche, New York
Watching this again after Ending Things really shows the similarities between the films. I do need to do more reading about this film as there's a lot of threads I'm no good at connecting.
[8]

179. The Strangers: Prey at Night
Shame the whole film isn't put together as well as the pool scene. The first one is such a solid and grim film but this one not so much. Needed another common sense pass.
[5]

180. Tenet
Genuinely love the concept and how much it makes you really think about how it works. It would be great except the film itself is not much fun at all. The action is interesting but it's all very visually drab (that final set piece location bleugh), the baddie is too unpleasant to be entertaining, the one (!) female lead is horrendously written and the whole thing is edited down for efficiency to a fault. I wish I wanted to sit through it again to attempt to piece it together but I really don't.
[4]

181. The Dark and the Wicked
Quite creepy and tense at times but I was a bit disappointed at the overuse of loud Scare Stings when they really weren't needed. The visuals were enough. Plus I would have peaced out after the first freaky occurrence.
[6]

182. 16 Blocks
A kind of entertaining action thriller thing that doesn't really make you feel like anything was gained by watching it.
[5]

183. Devil
I enjoyed this quite a bit. Quite a bit of logic to the processes even though it has a supernatural concept. Just doesn't quite stick the landing.
[7]

184. Freaky
I'm sucker for this concept but unfortunately it's not as well thought out or put together as his Happy Death Day films. Some cracking slasher kills in it though
[5]

185. Good Boys
I enjoyed this a lot. Probably more than I should have. I liked how earnest it was in the characters and the story it was telling. Plus lots of silly jokes
[8]

186. LA Confidential
What a cast! A very solid and entertaining noir. I can see why is considered a classic.
[8]

187. Happiest Season
Queer focussed rom-com that could have been excellent but just misses the mark with some story threads not followed through and some overly broad comedy and rom-com cliches. Kristen Stewart is great in it though.
[6]

188. Unforgiven
Well that was excellent. Almost in spite of itself at times.
[9]

189. Blood Simple
Baby Coens show their early chops making a film in the vein of stuff they would go on to do better later. Some of the edits felt a bit too wink wink clever.
[6]

190. The Grinch
Some stunning animation work and some very good physical comedy but it's let down by not being able to commit to it's setting by chucking in known songs and such.
[6]

191. A Simple Plan
Raimi does Coen in a pretty solid little thriller thing. Just felt a bit long and not as tight as a Coen. Billy Bob is excellent.
[6]

192. Corpus Christi
Final film for 2020. Polish film where an ex-con convinces a local town he's a preacher. Despite a very good lead performance the film itself never really fully engaged me. But I was never bored.
[6]

ShabbyMcCrabby

hylian_elf wrote:

1. Thirst
Park Chan-Wook does it again, this time with a vampire story.

[8]

Been a long time since I've seen this. Need to check it out again.

The Daddy wrote:

1. The Lighthouse. Eggers certainly knows how to do atmosphere! That was quite something.

My most anticipated movie of this year. Not out till Feb I think. I know it's "available" but I'd like to cinema it.

Webbins

1. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Mick has another pop at his niece in another average sequel. **

Tempy

ShabbyMcCrabby wrote:

1. The Greasy Strangler
Starting the year off right. Like Napoleon Dynamite turned up to 11 with added sex and violence. It takes a deft touch to make something so weird and gross actually work. I liked it more than I probably should have
[9]

I’m not sure it really worked for me. I remember downloading and years ago and being less than impressed.

ShabbyMcCrabby

I'm not even sure why it worked for me really. It did drag a bit as it went on in its one-note way but I found bits to grab onto as it went.
I thought but I find it genuinely funny at times (the potato chip bit was the right kind of silly) and every time the lady from Eastbound and Down did her disco dance it made me laugh too.
It reminded me of what I liked about Napoleon Dynamite.

The producer of Strangler directed a movie last year called Come To Daddy. It's worth checking out. Not quite as weird but still kooky.

The Daddy

ShabbyMcCrabby wrote:

The Daddy wrote:

1. The Lighthouse. Eggers certainly knows how to do atmosphere! That was quite something.

My most anticipated movie of this year. Not out till Feb I think. I know it's "available" but I'd like to cinema it.

Good idea, it would definitely benefit from the immersion you get in the cinema.

regmcfly

That's also my most anticipated this year. Small dark cinema pls.

Cos

1. Sunset Boulevard

Started the year with a classic and it's a well earned reputation. Ever so slightly hammy at the end but I love watching films when one of those all time quotes I never knew the origin of pops up - 'I'm ready for my close-up, Mr DeMille.'

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