Sunday 15 December 2013

TV

The British Comedy Awards 2013
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Friends
6x11 The One with the Apothecary Table [4th or so watch]

this week on 100 Films

The 100 Films Advent Calendar marches on this week, leading to seven new reviews again...


Fast & Furious (2009)
Some say this is the worst of the series, and I think I agree. 2 Fast 2 Furious has a stupid name and Tokyo Drift is almost a direct-to-DVD cheapo, but they embrace their trashy roots and are kinda fun. #4 takes itself too seriously as a revenge/drug-smuggling thriller.
Read more here.


Flight (2012)
After a decade locked away in motion-capture madness, Robert Zemeckis returned to the realms of the real with this Oscar-nominated drama... Cue a film that attempts a grown-up account of addiction, but fumbles it, in the process missing the more interesting story of the crash investigation.
Read more here.


G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
If Team America: World Police had been made for children, it would be a lot like this.

If The Asylum made blockbusters instead of mockbusters, they would be a lot like this.

If Michael Bay were a less skilled director, his movies would be a lot like this.
Read more here.


Jack Reacher (2012)
an enthralling action-thriller with an unusual-these-days emphasis on the thriller part. There’s still a well-executed car chase, an epic punchy-shooty climax, and the odd spot of running and fighting along the way, but primarily this is a mystery that our heroes must wind their way through.
Read more here.


Lady of Deceit (1947) aka Born to Kill
Even today, it’s quite a nasty little work, although tastes have evolved to the point where “discriminating people” are likely to be attracted to it — though not purely for the violence. You’d imagine that would pale by today’s standards, but even now the opening double homicide is quite shocking
Read more here.


Real Steel (2011)
Once upon a time, Real Steel would have been rated PG, been aimed at 7- to 10-year-old boys, and would probably have been quite the success. In the current Hollywood moviemaking climate, however, it’s rated PG-13, consequently aimed at teenage boys and grown men who still have the tastes of teenage boys, and seems to be regularly slated in online comment sections. That’s a shame because, despite some corny and cheesy bits, it generally works.
Read more here.


Wolf (1994)
It’s about werewolves. But don’t go thinking this is like An American Werewolf in London or The Wolfman, and certainly don’t attach it to the modern Twilight-type werewolf saga — this is a supernatural movie For Adults. Not in the sense of there being excessive violence or sex or swearing or what have you, but, rather, because of the characters and their situations.
Read more here.


Plus, new to the new blog...


Friday the 13th Part III [3D] (1982)
They have a whale of a time shoving stuff out into the audience for almost no reason — just like the stereotype of 3D films, of course. That’s part of the fun of trashy 3D movies so I’m not criticising it, but what sadly doesn’t work is the ColorCode 3D system... It provides lovely depth to normal scenes, but as soon as something’s attempting to come out at you it fails.
Read more here.


More next Sunday.