this week on 100 Films

It's the 1st of a new month, so my round up of what was posted over on 100 Films in a Year this week naturally begins with the October round-up. It's a big'un -- the biggest ever, in fact!




Phew! Now then, there were also six brand-new reviews published this week. They were...


Birdman (2014)

Michael Keaton is an actor who once played a superhero in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Well, to clarify, Michael Keaton plays an actor, Riggan Thomson, who once played a superhero in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Decades later, he’s trying to be taken seriously by starring in a play on Broadway… which he’s also written… and is directing… and has sunk his personal finances into. So it’s probably not a good thing that one of his cast can’t act, his personal life is all over the place, the critics hate him before the play’s even opened, and he’s hallucinating superpowers.

Read more here.


Spectre (2015)

I saw Spectre days after the eager-beavers but still before some people, so here are my spoiler-free thoughts... Chances are, if you’re interested in a review of the 24th Bond movie you’ve already read one. Several, probably. Nonetheless... I’m compelled to throw some of my initial spoiler-free thoughts out there. Plus, in places, commentary on those other reviews.

Read more here.


Stoker (2013)

Stoker isn’t all about its mystery and its twists — it’s at least as much about its carefully constructed Gothic mood; but part of that is the mystery, so, y’know. Indeed, it’s so moody and atmospheric that it seems to turn some viewers off. It’s certainly not thrill-a-minute, and it has a very particular pace and tone.

Read more here.


Superbad (2007)

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s semi-autobiographical comedy sets Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) (see what they did there?) on a quest to obtain booze for a party where they hope to copulate. Or, “every American teen comedy.”

Read more here.


Twilight (2008)

For Halloween, I decided to review one of the most notorious supernatural films of recent times. A movie so horrific, it sent critics cowering behind their sofas. A film so evil, it’s perverted the minds of children — and some adults — the world over. A movie so renowned, it strikes fear into the hearts of even hardened movie lovers. I speak, of course, of Twilight.

Read more here.


Wings (1927)

part rom-com, part war-action movie. On the ground, Jack and David’s interactions with Mary and Sylvia (the latter of whom barely features) are based around misunderstandings and almost-slapstick drunkenness. In the air, the picture comes alive in thrilling battle scenes, performed by fearless stuntmen and shot by bold cameramen.

Read more here.


Finally, six archive posts were reposted too...


July 2011

Every year of 100 Films seems to see at least one shockingly weak month for my film viewing. Last year it was April (three films); the year before February (two) and July (none); and so on. This year I’d done pretty well — my monthly totals so far run at 12, 13, 13, 9, 11 and 9 — but I have finally crumbled: July 2011 scores a lowly four.

Read more here.


August 2011

[The following was all irrelevant soon after I posted it, never mind now in 2015. But hey-ho, the repostathon rolls on…]

Read more here.


September 2011

By the end of September 2010 I’d made it to my goal of 100 films. This year? Not a chance. Of course I haven’t. I ended last month on 77 — even at my best, 23 films in a month is madness. [How times have changed!]

Read more here.


October 2011

Still not at 100. I think I would have made it to 90 though, or possibly even a bit further, but I re-watched X-Men: First Class on Blu-ray last Friday night and got a burning desire to re-watch the rest of the X-Men films in chronological order

Read more here.


November 2011

This year’s 100 Films is turning into a race for the finish line — always kinda fun, if not record-breaking... now — as I enter the final stretch — I find myself just one ahead of target. To put it plainly: there’s eight films to go to my goal.

Read more here.


December 2011

But did I make it to 100 in time? ... I did! Just. Three films in the final 24 hours of the year, the last of them finishing just an hour before midnight, see me reach 100 exactly this year. Phew!

Read more here.


So nearly done with the reposts now!

More next Sunday.