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8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
9x08 (3/7/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

this week on 100 Films

This week over at 100 Films in a Year saw a new-look monthly update, packed with far more goodies than ever before. Check it out here:




As well as that, four brand-new reviews were published this week...


The Eagle (2011)

Adapted from Rosemary Sutcliff’s children’s adventure novel, director Kevin Macdonald’s film is, perhaps surprisingly, almost leisurely paced, as much about mood as it is about action. Big fights and battles clearly aren’t the film’s goal or forte, though an early sequence where Roman forces battle druids outside the fort Tatum commands is excellently done.

Read more here.


Fury (2014)

In some respects it's a bit “seen it all before”. The desaturated photography, muddy landscape and slightly-ramshackle military campaign are all very post-Saving Private Ryan, though writer-director David Ayer lends enough of his own directorial flair that it feels more visually distinctive than most Ryan rip-offs.

Read more here.


The Guest (2014)

I loved The Guest. I loved Dan Stevens’ character and his performance. I loved each and every one of the perfectly-placed supporting cast. I loved the wit and the action scenes. I loved the ’80s-inspired plotting. I loved the score. Indeed, I loved pretty much everything about it.

Read more here.


The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time, Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer’s French-produced silent movie depicts the last hours in the life of Joan of Arc, a nineteen-year-old who is on trial by the Church for claiming God instructed her to fight to free France from British rule. You probably know it doesn’t turn out well for her.

Read more here.


Plus six archive reviews were reposted on the new blog...


Breathless (1960)

Godard's first and most famous film; part of the beginning of the nouvelle vague, a French movement defining a particular youth culture at the time... This is definitely what most people would call an 'arthouse' film, though is decidedly less so than the one other Godard film I've seen

Read more here.


The Crowd (1928)

Late silent-era drama — though you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a comedy until halfway, when the light antics of a young couple in ’20s New York give way to some increasingly dark drama (interesting trivia: seven endings were shot for distributors to choose from, some happy and some sad; all chose sad ones.)

Read more here.


Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005)

The plot is more or less suitably movieised — a more-epic-than-usual tale of Stewie’s origins (sort of) — though it seems slightly held back by its genesis as three TV episodes and the need for it ultimately to be split back up. With subplots that begin and end within each half-hour(-ish) segment, it plays about as well as watching a three-parter back to back

Read more here.


Fantômas: In the Shadow of the Guillotine (1913)

The first of the silent Fantômas films. It's interestingly structured: there's no 'origin story' for Fantômas, he just is an infamous master criminal, who's introduced in what would undoubtedly be a pre-titles sequence today

Read more here.


Fantômas: Juve Versus Fantômas (1913)

Second instalment... full of crazy schemes and action set pieces, which means it’s actually a great deal of fun, relatively fast-paced and densely plotted, exciting and deliberately amusing

Read more here.


The Good German (2006)

is this a case of style over substance? Some critics accuse it of just that, saying it concentrates more on the look & feel than the characters. They do have a point, but the style is, if not incidental, then still not the sole purpose. The tale is more about the mystery — indeed, mysteries — than the characters.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.