Films

Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)
[#32 in 100 Films in a Year 2015]

this week on 100 Films

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


Godzilla (2014)

after over an hour and a half of teasing us, there’s an almighty brawl, and Godzilla is shown off in all his glory. Edwards isn’t trying to hide the monster, he’s saving it. He’s denying us shots of it not to punish the viewer or to trick us, but literally to tease us, to build excitement and suspense and desire for the final battle. Too many people aren’t used to this — modern blockbusters have trained them for non-stop show-us-all-you’ve-got action from start to finish — and that’s a shame, and their loss, because Edwards’ method is superior

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Show Boat (1951)

the boat sets sail to the strains of Ol’ Man River, a downright fantastic song. “I get weary and sick of trying / I’m tired of living and scared of dying” — a bit fatalistic for a bright little musical about two people falling in love on a show boat? No, it’s just an indication of where things are going — into darkness, as modern parlance would have it

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Not the best week for archive reviews, either, with a mere four being reposted to the new blog...


Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

George Clooney’s directorial debut is part biopic, part comedy, and part spy thriller. It’s the last part that works best, but perhaps that’s just because I have a predilection for spy thrillers

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Dragonslayer (1981)

the realisation of the dragon is definitely one of the film's high points. It's an impressive creation, brought to the screen in those wonderful pre-CGI days through a total of 16 puppets, which included a 40-foot hydraulic model... Of course it has that veneer of '80s effects work, which is either nostalgic or amateurish depending on your point of view (and, most likely, age).

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Rage (2009)

I really didn’t expect to like this: a series of straight-to-camera monologues, performed in front of just plain-coloured backgrounds, about the fashion industry... despite the concept’s innate pretentiousness, it’s an intriguing one. Once Rage settled into its stride (or, perhaps, I settled into its stride), however, I loved it.

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What About Bob? (1991)

a comedy about mental health. As such, it feels primed for misunderstanding and inappropriateness. And it is indeed a little worrying early on: Bill Murray’s performance is, from the off, superbly believable, but it’s undercut by bad ‘this is a comedy’ music that suggests we’re meant to laugh at his impairments rather than feel sympathy.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.