this fortnight on 100 Films

I forgot to schedule a 100 Films in a Year update for last week (while I was away) so instead here's a look back at the last fortnight.

First up, the 1 brand-new review published in that time...


Midnight Special (2016)

The story’s style has made a comparison to Spielberg the go-to, not only for reviewers but for the writer-director himself, who’s labelled the film an homage to E.T. and Close Encounters. You can see that influence, certainly, but it lacks the effortless charm that Spielberg brings to his movies. If this is Spielberg, it’s by way of more indie arthouse fare.

Read more here.


The meat of my posting this month comes from my 100 Favourites series, which this fortnight continued with 4 more posts...


V for Vendetta (2005)

Although dressed up as part of an entertaining action movie, the story’s real topic is the rights and wrongs of government, and our attitudes and responsibilities towards it as citizens. That message feels as relevant as ever after the events of this year. Perhaps it always will — like George Orwell’s 1984, an enduring warning against things going too far.

Read more here.


Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

while the technical achievement remains impressive today (bearing in mind the limitations of the time) it’s all in service of the characters and the story. Even as you marvel at the visuals, you’re engrossed by the mystery and kept amused by the gags, including clever and witty references to cartoons and film noir.

Read more here.


X-Men (2000)

Its significance to the current movie landscape is hard to underestimate: it took the superhero subgenre... and made it respectable blockbuster fodder, which leads directly to where we are today. And the reason it sparked all that is because it’s a quality entertainment in its own right, mixing superpowered action with weighty themes and top-drawer performances from a cast who are almost all better than this, elevating the material rather than besmirching themselves with it.

Read more here.


X2 (2003)

one trend in the modern superhero era... sequels that are better than their predecessor, upending the accepted order of things. And as with so many things in the current superhero epoch, it started with the X-Men. Personally I’ve always slightly preferred the first movie, but X2 does polish up the action sequences, engages with the series’ thematic subtexts in an effective manner, and adds significantly to the ongoing mystery of Wolverine’s past.

Read more here.


More next Sunday. For real this time.