TV

Gilmore Girls
5x21 Blame Booze and Melville

Person of Interest
4x13 M.I.A.
[Watch it (again) on My5.]

Films

Ghosts of Mars (2001)
[#76 in 100 Films in a Year 2016]

this week on 100 Films

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


The East (2013)

In this atypical espionage thriller, Brit Marling is a private security employee sent to infiltrate an underground activist group who are exposing the illegal activities of mega-corporations. Faced with the group’s honourable intentions vs. her employers’ indifference, will she go native?

Read more here.


King Boxer (1972)

Released in the US as Five Fingers of Death, this popularised kung fu Stateside… there’s a good level of action (the primary reason to watch any kung fu movie worth its salt, surely), and a particularly stunning, casually inventive, multi-fight climax.

Read more here.


The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

the contentious parts are its strengths: it humanises Jesus, as he shows uncertainty about his God-given role and the earthly concerns that tempt him. Willem Dafoe makes Christ a plausible human, but Harvey Keitel’s Brooklyn-accented Judas feels like a spoof.

Read more here.


Of Human Bondage (1934)

When Bette Davis is off screen, it feels like the film is waiting for her to return. Her arc aside, it’s a take-it-or-leave-it damp squib of a drama — there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just not all that engaging.

Read more here.


Starman (1984)

The film is an oddity on director John Carpenter’s CV, [but his] horror roots are on display: there are stalking POV shots as the alien arrives at Karen Allen’s house, and then it grows a human body, a sequence in which the ugliest (prosthetic) baby you’ve ever seen stretches and creaks as it grows into an adult in mere minutes. It’s pretty freaky. Indeed, as per the BBFC, Starman “contains mild language, sex, violence and sci-fi horror”, but is rated PG. Ah, the good old days!

Read more here.


Also, my 100 Favourites series continued with 2 more posts...


Donnie Darko (2001)

The film makes strong use of contemporary pop music. It all seems to sit perfectly, which is a little ironic as a good number of tracks were changed because they couldn’t afford the rights on such a low budget. The director’s cut restores some of the original choices, which was a mistake.

Read more here.


The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

R2-D2 is the best supporting character in every Star Wars film, but in this one we are introduced to Yoda. Looks like a Muppet, as cheeky as a Muppet, much wiser than a Muppet. Probably. It’s hard to be certain.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.