this week on 100 Films

You may have noticed that 2015 has begun, and so for 100 Films in a Year that means it's time to look back at 2014 through a variety of posts.

First, WordPress provide their annual summary of site statistics. Find out how many shows I could sell out at the Sydney Opera House.

Then, there's my December summary:



And now the big one: The Full List of my 2014 viewing, complete with a bunch of fun statistics and graphs. That's fun, right?


As well as all that, a total of two new reviews were published this week:


The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011)

The screenplay’s balance between peril and comedy is spotlessly enhanced by Spielberg's peerless direction. In a world stuffed to the gills with lesser blockbusters that palely imitate the groundwork Spielberg and co laid in the ’70s and ’80s, work like this should remind people why he’s still the master of the form.

Read more here.


The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)

Though Zatoichi is best (or quickest) defined as a series of samurai films, those taking that to mean copious swordplay will leave with their expectations unmet after this first movie. Tale is more of a dramatic piece, exploring the dilemmas faced by Zatoichi and Hirate — honour and what is right vs. money and misplaced promises

Read more here.


And finally, two further reviews were new to the new blog...


Becoming Jane (2007)

The big advantage to this being a somewhat Hollywoodised version of the story is the slew of English acting talent on display. Julie Walters, Maggie Smith and Ian Richardson are all present, in roles of varying sizes, plus the younger Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House) and Laurence Fox (son of Edward); not to mention James McAvoy, busy appearing in everything under the sun at the time.

Read more here.


Young Guns (1988)

Considering this is ‘the Brat Pack Western’, one might well expect a modernised, sanitised West; something rated PG-13. Instead the film seems to have begun life as a serious attempt at a Billy the Kid biography, right down to bloody violence that earns it an 18. This intention seems to survive — bar a music-video-styled opening, a couple of lines of dialogue, and the wailing ’80s guitar score — but how successful it was is another matter.

Read more here.


More next Sunday -- including my Top 10 of 2014!