TV

Grantchester
1x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

The Running Man (1987)
[#116 in 100 Films in a Year 2014]

this week on 100 Films

Three brand-new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...


Backfire (1950)

doesn’t seem to be very well regarded on the whole... This may be because at times it feels more like an Agatha Christie mystery than a film noir: a pair of clean-cut amateur sleuths bumble their way through a string of clues, learning more and more about the plot thanks to other characters’ flashbacks. I like a good Christie mystery though, so the pairing of styles isn’t a problem for me.

Read more here.


La Belle et la Bête (1946)

I imagine you know the story — it’s a tale as old as time, after all — but let’s recap anyway: in lieu of her father, Belle (Josette Day) goes to be the ‘guest’ of the animal-like Beast (Jean Marais) in his castle. Initially repulsed by him, Belle comes to realise there’s something there that wasn’t there before as she grows attracted to her captor. Meanwhile, Belle’s would-be suitor (Marais again) resolves to kill the Beast…

Read more here.


Chronicle (Extended Edition) (2012)

The obvious route for a found-footage superhero movie is surely in the Kick-Ass/Super mould: a wannabe dressing up in a funny costume and setting out to fight crime, in the real world. [Director Josh] Trank and screenwriter Max Landis have grander ambitions, however, setting their sights on characters who develop Superman-esque powers.

Read more here.


Plus four were new to the new blog...


Beauty and the Beast (Special Edition) (1991/2002)

Do you need me to tell you how great Beauty and the Beast is? I imagine not. If you’ve seen it, you’ll know. If you haven’t, you really should, and then you’ll know.

Read more here.


Hairspray (2007)

while the key to Hairspray’s success may be its positive attitude and memorable songs, perhaps the key to its quality -- and the eventual score of this review -- are the issues it tackles around those.

Read more here.


The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

It manages to avoid the sugary sentimentality that you might expect and in the process makes for a fair tale of the underdog succeeding.

Read more here.


Total Recall (1990)

For me, the joy of Total Recall is in discovering another ’80s blockbuster (ignore the fact it was released in 1990), the kind of thing I grew up watching on rented videos and BBC One Bank Holiday schedules... whose practical effects and general style and tone vividly recall that era for me

Read more here.


More next Sunday.