this week on 100 Films

No new reviews to the blog this week, because it's just turned 2013! I know, it has been for the best part of a week, but as this is the first 100 Films update since the year began there's a few bits & bobs to report.

So first among firsts, there's the December update, revealing not only what I watched in December, but also the final total for 2013. Then there's some statistics about the site, helpfully provided by WordPress.

Next, the first of my big looks back at 2012. That has the full list of everything I watched, as well as the always-fun statistics. This year there are more of the latter than ever before, complete with numerous graphs. Exciting!

Finally, my final post looking back at last year, 2012 In Retrospect. There you can find my ten favourite films I saw for the first time last year, alongside some honourable mentions, the worst five, and fifty new ones I missed.


No new reviews, as I said, but nonetheless some old reviews were new to the new blog...


Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Like On Stranger Tides, it suffers from a surfeit of ideas that are equally undeveloped. There’s an adventure story that wants to reach an Indiana Jones-esque style but fumbles it. It often feels like the genuinely important bits of plot and character development are quickly brushed over, instead spending inexplicably long stretches on barely-relevant asides.

Read more here.


The Princess and the Frog (2009)

It’s beautifully done: backgrounds are gorgeously painted, character animation is fast and fluid. There are some stunning individual shots, like when the fireflies become involved in creating glorious lighting and patterns in the bayou, for instance. There’s a nice use of different styles when appropriate too

Read more here.


Robin Hood: Director's Cut (2010)

Origin stories are all the rage at the moment, and so Ridley Scott follows in the footsteps of Batman Begins and Casino Royale with his Darker And Grittier™ take on the beginnings of Robin Hood. No lurid green tights or Merry Men here — this is Robin of the Hood as he really was (maybe). Sadly, Scott's potentially worthwhile effort has become distracted and wandered too far down the wrong path.

Read more here.


And that's all for now. More next Sunday!