The Harry Potter Films of David Yates June 14, 2013
Posted by badblokebob in : Editorials, Fantasy, 2000s, adaptations, 4 stars, Adventure, British films, Specials, 2010s, 2013 , add a comment
Later than promised, but here it is: a director-focused overview of the final four Harry Potter films.
Plus, some closing thoughts on the series as a whole.
The Saw Series October 31, 2012
Posted by badblokebob in : Editorials, Horror, Specials, 2010s , add a commentIt’s Halloween (I imagine you noticed when a gang of youths knocked on your door demanding some of payment against the threat of violent retribution), so here’s a new overview of that cinema staple of ’00s Halloweens…
Make/Remake: The Spiral Staircases August 30, 2012
Posted by badblokebob in : Film Noir: Classic, 2000s, adaptations, 1940s, Mystery, remakes, Specials, Make/Remake, 2012 , add a comment
and
The Spiral Staircase (2000)
The good version is on BBC Two tomorrow at 12:50pm. If you’re interested in how I think the 2000 remake compares, click through:
The Batman Series July 20, 2012
Posted by badblokebob in : Action, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Crime, 2000s, adaptations, 1990s, 1980s, Adventure, superhero films, Specials, Film Noir: Pre/Post/Neo/etc., 2012 , add a commentNew mini reviews of Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, here:
I may well have some thoughts about The Dark Knight Rises up later today too.
5 Years of 100 Films, Part 6 March 3, 2012
Posted by badblokebob in : Editorials, Specials, 2012 , add a comment
As a final salvo in my fifth birthday celebration (yes, normal service resumes next week), here’s something I was kindly awarded by Colin of Riding the High Country… back in December. Couldn’t find quite the right outlet for it. Or, to be more honest, couldn’t think of the answer to one of the questions. You’ll spot my solution.
But now is most appropriate, because what better time for such a self-reflective award than when I’m already looking back at five years of my own blog? Hurrah! Thank you, Colin.
1) Tell everyone something that no one else knows about.
100 Films is certainly my most successful blog, in terms of both longevity and readership, but over the years I’ve set up loads of others for various reasons. To give you some idea of how good I am at sticking at them, there are nine blogs currently associated with my Blogger account and here’s how long each lasted, arranged from shortest to longest:
0 posts
1 post
1 post
1 post
29 posts
40 posts
91 posts
3,749 posts
OK, one other I stuck at.
2) Link to one of my posts that I personally think best fits the following categories:
Most Beautiful Piece
I suppose there’s an element of interpretation involved when applying this category to a film review blog. I toyed with a few where I got clever with the pictures (try the filenames on that last one), but decided that was too literal and I should look at the writing. So I say Is Anybody There?, because I think I did a decent job of tapping in to and explaining the film’s own beauty.
Most Helpful Piece
I don’t know if I’m ever particularly helpful, but my review of Inception is ludicrously long and detailed and was described as “great” — that must have something useful in it, right?
Most Popular Piece
I looked to my hit stats for this, but the top few are bolstered by regular spam hits (based on where my spam comments go) so I thought I best discount them. Instead I’m going to say my reviews of The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience, a connected pair that sat pretty atop my list of most-viewed posts until the spam started flooding in. (Neither are in the top 10 any more, but, as I said, I don’t trust that.)
Most Controversial Piece
I wouldn’t say I’m all that controversial… though I did put the widely reviled Alien Resurrection in a top ten, so… But it’s not my love for that I’ve chosen, but instead Sucker Punch. It was slagged off by everyone, but I was impressed enough to defend it for over 1,900 words.
Most Surprisingly Successful Piece
Looking back, this one surprises me even now: Wallander: The Revenge, the theatrically-released second season premiere of the Krister Henriksson Wallander series. It got three comments — that’s a lot for me anyway, especially on something like that — and is the second most-viewed post. But that might be spam.
Most Underrated Piece
All of them! No, I jest. There are a few lengthy in-depth ones I could choose, but maybe I’d go with Trainspotting — I was very pleased with the concept behind that one.
Most Pride-worthy Piece
I could say the fact that I’ve written lengthy reviews of all seven Saw films, but that would be seven posts not one. Looking back, I surprised myself with how many of my reviews I’m actually quite proud of, so I’m going to really cheat and say two, for different reasons: Ministry of Fear, because I liked the idea of how much I go on about the cake and I think I nailed it (unlike some of my other attempts at humour), and Watchmen, because it’s rare one gets to write a well-informed review on a blog all about first viewings, and I think that (and its companion Director’s Cut review) are exactly that.
I feel like I should now go on to highlight seven that fail in these regards (especially as I’ve basically cheated and linked to 23 posts across those seven categories), and I’m sure I could, but maybe that wouldn’t be in the spirit.
3) Pass this award on to seven other bloggers.
This is where I once again realise I don’t read enough blogs. It rather defeats the object to leave this one out (it’s called a “link” award, after all), but I fear I shall have to return to it at a later date. But I will — I’m making a list, and checking it twice.
(That I’m actually Santa would’ve been good for that first fact, eh.)
Time to stop patting myself on the back and get back to regular business. And so, I shall.
5 Years of 100 Films, Part 5 March 2, 2012
Posted by badblokebob in : Editorials, 5 stars, Specials, 2012 , add a comment100 Films in a Year is five years old this week, and to mark the occasion I’m having five days of top fives from the past five years. On Monday I bemoaned the five worst films I’ve seen as part of this project, on Tuesday I slammed the five most overrated, on Wednesday I lamented the five most underrated, and yesterday I selected the five best.
For today’s final list, then, I’ve chosen…
Dark City
A strong contender for “most underrated” — despite being championed by the likes of Roger Ebert, Dark City still seems to have slipped largely under the radar. It’s a dystopian sci-fi tale that thematically prefigures The Matrix trilogy, without getting as bogged down in its own self-importance as those sequels did.
The Dark Knight
I haven’t seen this since the cinema, so maybe there’s a degree of nostalgia in my love for it. Or maybe it’s just a great action-thriller that happens to star a man who dresses as a bat (not that Batman actually looks like a bat). At the time I asserted it was one of the greatest films ever made, and IMDb’s Top 250 continues to bear that out: it’s currently 8th.
Kick-Ass
Controversy dogged Kick-Ass‘ release, both for its foul-mouthed murderous pre-teen and geek hype not translating to box office dollars. Those who dismiss it underrate it (some high-profile critics were shockingly blind to its intentions) and only a US-centric view holds it a flop: it did OK Stateside, well worldwide, and was a huge hit on DVD and Blu-ray.
Sherlock Holmes
After placing this 8th on my 2010 favourites (behind six not included here) and seeing it again, I’ve realised I love it. Funny, exciting, with some of the best-directed examples of how it would feel to be Holmes. Plus it’s got a proper mystery with a proper solution. It may not be a traditional take on the character, but it’s surprisingly faithful and bloody good fun.
Zodiac: Director’s Cut
I love David Fincher’s work, and this was a toss up with The Social Network, but I think I prefer his methodical examination of the real-life hunt for a serial killer and how it affected the lives of the people hunting. With some top-flight performances and virtuoso directing, this might actually be Fincher’s best film. And that’s saying something.
Honourable Mention: Léon (Version Intégrale)
Léon is one of my favourite films. I’ve loved it since a friend lent me the VHS at some point in secondary school. And that’s why, though the extended Version Intégrale was different enough to merit inclusion on the main list (it’s some 23 minutes (21%) longer), I would feel uncomfortable including it in a list culled from new films I’ve seen in the past five years. But it’s still one of my all-time favourites.
I note that all but one of these (plus Léon) were new releases during 100 Films‘ existence. Is it a good or a bad thing that my tastes skew modern? I do like older films — I’ve given plenty five stars and regularly enjoy watching them, as I’m sure you’ve noticed — but I don’t tend to place many on my lists of favourites. I wonder why?
Read this post on the new blog!
Don’t forget that these posts — and, in time, all others — can be read at my new-look blog here. Doesn’t it look snazzy even in this little thumbnail?
For more on why I’ve started this so-called simul-blog, please look here.
Five years, 545 new films (not to mention 28 new shorts and 25 other features I decided to review), and just 25 that stuck in the memory. And if you disagreed with any of my choices, particularly if you felt there was something else I’d reviewed that I should have included, then know that I had much longer shortlists for every category. I could do these lists over and quite easily choose another 25; and probably even over again after that; and for some of them, over a few times more beyond that.
But that’s the joy of films, and why we keep searching out new ones rather than only re-watching a few on loop, and why that’s the driving force behind my entire blog — because there’s so much good stuff out there.
Long may it continue.
OK, I’m not quite done. One final anniversary-y post tomorrow, then I’ll leave it be. It’s not some stats, but something else I thought appropriate.
5 Years of 100 Films, Part 4 March 1, 2012
Posted by badblokebob in : Editorials, 5 stars, Specials, 2012 , add a comment100 Films in a Year is five years old this week, and to mark the occasion I’m having five days of top fives from the past five years. On Monday I bemoaned the five worst films I’ve seen as part of this project, on Tuesday I slammed the five most overrated, and yesterday I lamented the five most underrated.
Choosing films for all of these lists has been tough, but I think today’s was hardest of all. I could easily list another five or ten or twenty films here (Let the Right One In came closest, for some reason; I could also have had The Greatest Film of All Time, which was one of the reasons I left it out — you don’t need me to recommend it (not that some of these need that either)), but these are what I’ve settled on as…
Anatomy of a Murder
I’m not one of the hardcore devotees of the crime genre (the many millions who buy the endless stream of crime paperbacks or watch all the TV cop shows), but I love a great thriller, and this is certainly one. Expertly judged by director Otto Preminger, with a barnstorming performance by Jimmy Stewart, this is a procedural tour de force.
Brief Encounter
Truly a film of another era; one where a romantic affair consists of cups of tea, discussions of the weather, trips to the cinema, tea, guilt, indecision, and more tea. First-class writing, direction and acting convey all the repressed emotions that make it truly British. That and the tea. It may be of another era, but it still shines today.
M
Inspired by real cases, Fritz Lang’s prototypical thriller tells of the hunt for a child killer by both the police and the criminal underworld. Innovative filmmaking helps tell a story that still thrills today, with themes that have an enduring relevance. Loaded with moments of pure cinema, M is essential viewing for any fan of the medium.
Rashomon
So influential its name has become an adjective, Akira Kurosawa’s film is still the archetypal story about conflicting accounts of one event because it does it so well. There are many imitators, but few have done it with such conviction. Add beautiful cinematography, music and performances and you have a masterpiece.
United 93
Before he got sidetracked into action filmmaking, director Paul Greengrass helmed documentary-esque dramas about real events. Here he brings those skills to bear on ‘the other plane’ from 9/11, the one crashed in a field by its brave passengers. But he doesn’t deify them — these are ordinary people in a horrible situation. For that truth, it’s all the better.
Honourable Mention: Blade Runner: The Final Cut
After a couple of decades, Ridley Scott was finally able to realise his ideal Blade Runner. Some prefer the 1992 Director’s Cut; some even like the largely-ignored original release; but, unlike his Alien Director’s Cut, this is Scott’s definitive version. It’s a great film, and by finally existing I deemed it eligible for inclusion, but really it’s a tweaked version of the Director’s Cut and I’d seen that before.
Read this post on the new blog!
Don’t forget that these posts — and, in time, all others — can be read at my new-look blog here. Doesn’t it look snazzy even in this little thumbnail?
For more on why I’ve started this so-called simul-blog, please look here.
Tomorrow 100 Films‘ birthday celebrations continue with my final top five: my favourite films from my last five years of viewing.
After that… well, we’ll see.