Thursday, 13 December 2012

ALL THE FILMS EVER

This is how I am doing reviews from now on because I cannot be bothered with doing proper ones and like to pretend I'm too busy but I'm not really. Instead, I'll just edit this post and add every single film I see in 2012 on, along with a score out of 10 and 5 words to accompany it. Simple. Because you don't actually care about my opinion, but I want it written down somewhere I won't lose.

I shall update this every single time I visit the cinema this year, which shall be quite often seeing as I've signed up for one of those Unlimited Cards that let you see as many films as you can stomach. I added links to films with article on EverBirdd, the site what I do words for and that, if I've written a more in-depth review. Just click on the films' title.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows: 5/10- Not a patch on Cumberbatch
The Artist: 8/10- Joyous, imaginative, very clever: recommended.
The Woman in Black: 6/10- Puts you on edge. BANG!
Hugo: 6/10- Beautiful and charming, if slow.
The Muppets: 9/10- I cried tears of joy.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel:  6/10- Thankfully not 'Old Peoples' Hangover'
John Carter: 4/10-  Not silly or good enough.
Bel Ami: 4/10- It's R-Patz playing a knob.
This Means War: 4/10- Generic generic generic generic GENERIC.
We Bought A Zoo: 7/10- Absolutely lovely: Cheesey but charming.
21 Jump Street: 7/10-  Not Monty Python, but funny.
The Hunger Games: 8/10-  Gleefully grim kiddy murdering- Superb.
The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists: 8/10- Perfect showcase of Aardman's wit.
Battleship: 1/10-  Boring. Stupid. Hateful. Crass. AVOID.
The Cabin in the Woods: 7/10- Smart, sharp yet somehow disappointing.
Marvel's Avengers Assemble: 8/10- Surprisingly cohesive, funny and good.
American Pie: Reunion: 5/10- Not for me, but alright.
The Lucky One: 5/10- OMG ZAC UR SO HOT!!!!111
Men In Black 3: 6/10- Fun if unoriginal alien bashing.
Snow White and the Huntsman: 5/10- Kristen Stewart's a miserable one.
Dark Shadows: 5/10- Forgettable, but good Scooby-Doo joke.
Moonrise Kingdom: 8/10- Most charming film of 2012.
Top Cat: The Movie: 2/10- Not provided with any dignity.
Prometheus: 5/10- Could be scarier, but goodish.
The Dictator: 6/10-  Loses it in the middle.
The Angel's Share: 7/10- Movie equivalent of '500 Miles'.
Rock of Ages: 4/10- Rubbish, too long... Good fun.
A Royal Affair: 8/10- Denmark does The Kings' Speech.
Fast Girls: 7/10-  A simple story, brilliantly executed.
Jaws: 6/10- Aged well. My first time.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: 6/10- Surprisingly fun. It's rubbish though.
Red Lights: 6/10- It's quite good, it is.
Cosmopolis: ??/10- I honestly have no idea.
Lay The Favourite: 3/10- All 3 for Bruce Willis.
Ice Age 4: Continental  Drift: 5/10- Contains some surprisingly smart jokes.
Storage 24: 6/10- Quality horror on a budget.
The Amazing Spider-Man: 7/10- The title says it all.
7 Days in Havana: 3/10- Feels like 7 days too.
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World: 7/10- ...I feel more than fine.
Batman double screening: Batman Begins: 8/10- Better than I remembered it.
Batman double screening: The Dark Knight: 9/10- Best superhero film ever made.
The Dark Knight Rises: 8/10-  Lives up to the hype.
Dr Seuss' The Lorax: 5/10- It is what it is.
Ted: 8/10- Properly, laugh out loud funny.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days: 5/10- Cringefest 2012, presented in CITV-o-vision
Brave: 6/10- Merely 'Good'. Are Pixar fading?
The Bourne Legacy: 6/10- Hawkeye's really good in it.
Offender: 3/10- There's nothing good about it.
The Expendables 2: 6/10- Chuck Norris-shaped explosive fun.
The Three Stooges: 7/10- Witless and wonderful. Watch it.
The Wedding Video: 5/10- Rufus Hounds' actually really good.
The Watch: 5/10- Moss is brilliant. Otherwise: Mmmhhhmmmeeeehh.
Step Up 4: Miami Heat: 5/10- So bad but so fun.
Shadow Dancer: 5/10- No, sorry, you lost me.
The Imposter: 8/10- Cinematic, compelling, puzzling... Absolutely brilliant.
A Few Best Men: 4/10- Telegraphed & unfunny gags in union
Total Recall: 5/10- Needs more ambiguity, less CGI.
The Possession: 4/10- Is not: Scary. Is: Funny
Yuma: 6/10- Surprisingly good Polish communist romp
Keith Lemon: The Film: 4/10- 3 hits, 346 misses. Passable.
Anna Karenina:  5/10- Too long. Not enough Knightley.
Premium Rush: 5/10-  Has its moments. And JGL.
The Sweeney: 5/10- Corr guv, yer nicked. Meh.
Paranorman: 8/10- Charming, melancholic, funny, beautifully animated
House at the End of the Street: 5/10- I'm over creepy little girls.
Now is Good: 5/10- I'm over dying little girls.
Looper: 8/10-  Best sci-fi film in years.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower: 6/10- Good cast, good soundtrack... Good.
Taken 2: 5/10- A film reliant on stupidity.
Liberal Arts: 7/10- Liking IS reason for watching.
Ruby Sparks: 7/10- Love quirky romcoms. Like this.
Hotel Transelvania: 6/10- Surprisingly funny. Especially for Sandler.
Frankenweenie: 6/10- Very moving, if otherwise lacking.
Sinister: 6/10- As the title suggests: Sinister.
Madagscar 3: Europe's Most Wanted: 6/10- It's funny. Really. Series first.
Paranormal Activity 4: 2/10- ParaSNOREmal Activity BORE more like.
The Campaign: 4/10- A huge missed satirical opportunity.
Skyfall: 8/10- The best Bond film. Amazing.
Fun Size: 4/10- Victoria Justice's impressive. Film's not.
Argo: 7/10- A masterclass in movie pacing.
The Sapphires: 6/10- Chris O'Dowd: Greatest Living Human.
Here Comes The Boom: 4/10- Where goes what boom?
Beasts of the Southern Wild: 8/10- Wonderful. No more words needed.
Silver Linings Playbook: 6/10- She's good, that Jennifer Lawrence
End of Watch: 8/10- Intense with Gyllenhall on-form.
The Master: 6/10- Too long. No narrative. Engrossing.
The Hunt: 8/10- Mikkelson: A king amongst actors.
Sightseers: 7/10- Future cult classic. Brilliantly dark.
7 Psychopaths: 7/10- Fitting score. Impressively sharp script.
So Undercover: 3/10- 21 Jump Street, minus wit.
Amour: 7/10- What d'y'mean it's not real?
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: 5/10- It's long. Very, very long.
Life of Pi: 7/10- A well-crafted, beautiful film.
Pitch Perfect: 8/10- So much fun. Very funny.

REPEAT VIEWINGS
If I've seen a film for a second (Or third) times, it goes down under here. The rating is out of 5, from 'Well, I didn't really want to see it for a second time...' to 'Already booking my third trip'. It's entirely on how the film holds up, seeing it again within a month, rather than the quality of the piece. If there's another rating after the initial one, that means I've seen it three or four or how many ever times.

The Muppets- 5/5
The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists- 4/5, 3/5, 3/5, 4/5
Marvel's Avengers Assemble- 5/5
Ice Age 4: Continental Drift- 2/5
The Dark Knight Rises- 5/5, 4/5, 4/5, 4/5, 4/5, 3/5
Ted- 3/5, 2/5
The Lorax- 3/5
Looper- 3/5
The Perks of Being a Wallflower: 5/5
Skyfall: 3/5
Seven Psychopaths: 4/5

HOW I SCORE
I count 5/10 as average, as opposed to the 7/10 that seems to increasingly be becoming commonplace. It's all my opinion and everything, and I reserve the right to change the score slightly if I change my mind about a film, although I do try not to play about too much. Instead of starting at the top and working down, as many seem to do, I like to start at 5 and see if a film can go up or down from there. 10/10 means flawless, and I've never seen such a film. 9/10 makes it a high-point within the genre, a real stand-out. An 8/10 film is a must-see: something that excels my expectations for that film. 6/10 means it's a good, enjoyable, solid example of the genre, whereas 4/10 means the opposite. The difference between a 2/10 and a 1/10 film is that a 2 means I'd kill to avoid seeing it again. 1/10 means I'd kill to have never seen it again. I won't be giving any 0s, unless the film doesn't exist. Far as the colours go, the numbers get darker or 'hotter', if you will, as the film gets better, all the way from a 1/10 to a 10/10. I won't be giving 0s, unless the film actually doesn't exist. Make sense? Thought so. Excellent.

Monday, 10 December 2012

What is the best film I have seen this year?

And so my first year as a 'Big film man' (As my wonderfully articulate younger brother so acutely puts it) comes rolling towards its satisfying climax. At the moment, I'm only a particularly good run. My best of the year, in fact. My last seven films have been my last seven good films. It feels like the world is trying to compensate for the two-and-a-half hours I spent watching Battleship. The interesting thing, however, is not the run itself -perhaps simply having less time means I've hand-picked the good films rather than just watching everything, stinkers 'n' all- but the films in this run.

Wednesday, 14 November 2012

The Lions Squad - 14th November

Every month, I'm picking a different Lions squad, blah blah, link to the first one, link to the second one, blah blah. Here's my most recent one, after the first week of the November tests-

1. Gethin Jenkins
2. Rory Best
3. Adam Jones
4. Richie Gray
5. Alun Wyn Jones
6. Danny Lydiate
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Sean O'Brien

9. Mike Blair
10. Jonathan Sexton
11. Tim Visser
12. Jonathan Davies
13. Brian O'Driscoll
14. Alex Cuthbert
15. Leigh Halfpenny

16. Ross Ford
17. Paul James
18. Dan Cole
19. Ian Evans
20. Stephen Ferris
21. Mike Phillips
22. Dan Biggar
23. Jamie Roberts

24. Cian Healey
25. Mike Ross
26. Richard Hibbard
27. Paul O'Connel
28. Toby Faletau
29. Ryan Jones
30. Jamie Heaslip
31. Sam Warburton
32. Ben Youngs
33. Jonny Wilkinson
34. Manu Tuilagi
35. Tommy Bowe
36. Rob Kearney
37. Stuart Hogg
38. Ben Foden


Monday, 5 November 2012

US Presidential Election Movie Pitches

PROPOSAL #1: The Caucus and the Hare
Childrens' animation
Starring Jim Carrey, Harry Hill
Directed by whoever directed the Ice Age sequels

A loveable animation full of family-centric fun, from the people who brought you Ice Age and Robots. Once every four years, the animal kingdom come together to watch as the greatest representatives of two great opposing tribes, the Republicans and the Democrats, stand against each other to see who gets to rule the animal kingdom. The kingdom is currently ruled by Obama (Carrey), a kindly and well-humoured dolphin. However, when lively young upstart Romney (Hill) is chosen to oppose him, the campaign race soon descends into chaos. Romney is a notorious cheater and loves to bend the rules, and, soon enough, what was once an election literally turns into a mad dash to the White House! Crazy fun for kids and grown-ups alike.

PROPOSAL #2: Class Campaign
Tween highschool comedy-drama
Starring Anna Kendrick, Selena Gomez, Josh Hutchinson
Directed by Mark Waters

A laugh-riot with it's heart in the right place, Mean Girls director Mark Waters returns to highschool with this hilarious teen comedy! The role of class president is, in Lazy Name High, the highest honour there is. This is where the wheat is separated from the chaff. The capable from the incompedant. The popular kids from the nerds. And no girl is more popular than the ultra-rich Michelle 'Mitt' Romney (Gomez). Having brushed aside token smart kid (Played by an unknown who'll never be heard of again), she assumes that not just the role but, finally, the heart of the totez gorge Soccer-playing dreamboat Chad (Hutchinson) will be hers. However, plucky young upstart Barack Obama, or Becky for short, (Kendrick) has other plans, and sets about to use her wits and her courage to bring about a new age of classroom rule! Side-splitting comedy from at least one person involved in the making of Juno.

Friday, 26 October 2012

The Number Game

The Problem With Film Ratings

"A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers". The wit and wisdom of Mr Plato there. While, in the context I'm about to plonk the quote into, it's most certainly true, I think it's worth defending numbers. I always have been, always am and always shall be a hater of maths. I just can't get my head around it. However, statistics, I like. Percentages, scores out of 10, population sizes, that kind of thing. Essentially, it's a fact, boiled down into three characters. It's just the essentials. While you need to assess the necessary knowledge first, you should be thankful for the number that gives you a clearer, purer understanding of the facts.

The context I was referring to was review scores. If you hadn't figured that out, please re-read the first paragraph with this in mind, then move on to the next one where I actually start talking sense.

Monday, 22 October 2012

The Wales Autumn Squad will be...

This is a prediction. Let's see how I've done in a few hours time.

Gethin Jenkins
Ryan Bevinton
Paul James
Adam Jones
Samson Lee
Rhys Gill
Alun Wyn Jones
Ian Evans
Bradley Davies
Luke Charteris
Ryan Jones
Sam Warburton
Justin Tipuric
Toby Faletau
Josh Navidi
Rob McCusker

Mike Phillips
Lloyd Williams
Tavis Knoyle
Dan Biggar
Rhys Priestland
James Hook
George North
Alex Cuthbert
Tom Prydie
Jamie Roberts
Jonathan Davies
Scott Williams
Ashley Beck
Leigh Halfpenny
Liam Williams

Talking points- No captain named, Prydie recalled, new call-ups for uncapped player Navidi & Lee, no place for Byrne, Henson. 31 man squad. That's what it'll be.

Saturday, 13 October 2012

The Lions Squad - 13th October

Over a month has passed since I last tried to pick a Lions squad. As such, here's my team. Seeing as it's Heineken Cup weekend (Quins are playing Biarritz as I write this) it means that we've had the first lot of test-intensity games, so there should be some sort of idea of how players'll cope and all that. Oh, and I'm not going to look at my previous squad whilst I pick the 38 this time around, but it may be worth comparing afterwards.

1. Gethin Jenkins
2. Ross Ford
3. Adam Jones
4. Richie Gray
5. Alun Wyn Jones
6. Stephen Ferris
7. Sam Warburton
8. Sean O'Brien

9. Tavis Knoyle
10. Jonathan Sexton
11. George North
12. Jonathan Davies
13. Brian O'Driscoll
14. Tim Visser
15. Leigh Halfpenny

16. Rory Best
17. Cian Healey
18. Ryan Jones
19. Justin Tipuric
20. Ben Youngs
21. Dan Biggar
22. Tommy Bowe

23. Dan Cole
24. Mike Ross
25. Richard Hibbard
26. Alastair Kellock
27. Ian Evans
28. Toby Faletau
29. Ben Morgan
30. David Denton
31. Tom Croft
32. Mike Phillips
33. Jonny Wilkinson
34. Alex Cuthbert
35. Jamie Roberts
36. Stuart Hogg
37. Rob Kearney
38. Ben Foden