I have seen a grand total of seven films since I last did a post for my 100 movies challenge for the year. SEVEN. That was back in February, when I saw Young Adult. It’s now April, going on May. Woops is probably not a strong enough word for this.
See, lots of things have gotten in the way. TV. Proximity to a decent cinema. (Compared to when was literally around the corner from my office.) And, well, spending time with the new man in my life. All could be seen as excuses. As in, they are excuses.
BUT I’m here to do an update! Just a small one. I honestly can’t remember the details of most of these few films I have seen. Again, no fault but my own.
Wreck-It Ralph
Enjoyed it. Fun, colourful with a little bit of heart. HOWEVER from last year’s crop of animated films, Brave still stands out more for me. Shut your slack jaw right now. Don’t get my wrong, thoroughly enjoyed Wreck-It Ralph but it just didn’t have the depth of characters that I enjoyed from other animated films. Shoot me!
Rating: 4/5
The Sandlot
Apparently it was shocking that I hadn’t seen this ‘classic’ film. The same sort of film as, say, The Goonies and Mighty Ducks, it’s all about growing up, friendships and a little bit of fun. Very fun film to watch. Some claimed it beats The Goonies, but it really doesn’t. What it does do is bring up my tally of baseball themed films up to three. (Moneyball and A League of Their Own.)
Rating: 4/5
John Carter
What on Earth (Mars?) was this film trying to be? A semi-serious sci-fi actioner? A jolly Disney jaunt a la Pirates of the Caribbean? Was it me or did John Carter have a bit of an identity crisis? Wasn’t all that entertaining. Perfectly fine to watch while I was coming out of a major bout of flu. Didn’t need my brain to watch it! But eh.
Rating: 2/5
We Bought a Zoo
Think the one word I can think of for We Bought a Zoo is cute. It is. It’s not the most original of films (Yes, I know it’s based on a true story.) but it kept me amused. Hard not to with Matt Damon in the lead role – always love watching films with him in it. The soundtrack gave it one more star for me – awesome work from Jonsi.
Rating: 3/5
Blazing Saddles
Slowly making my way through Mel Brooks’ films. Have to say, didn’t love this one as much as Young Frankenstein but it was pretty damn funny. Found some of the gags went on for a little bit too long. The obvious gags always got a chuckle out of me.
Rating: 4/5
Project Nim
Excellent documentary from the same people who brought us Man on Wire, which I loved. Don’t think this one is quite as strong, though the story of Nim and the moral ramifications of what they were trying to do was something I’d honestly never thought about. It’s a solid documentary.
Rating: 3/5
Oblivion
Tom Cruise can hold a film together. This isn’t a new fact. Just re-stating it. Had it not been for the Cruise, think this film would have landed flat on its face. It’s a fine enough sci-fi film, but it doesn’t give us anything new in the genre. It looks good, but not as stunning as I’d hoped. The soundtrack from M83 is good, but again, not as good as I’d hoped. Think Daft Punk’s Tron Legacy mixed with Hans Zimmer’s The Dark Knight Rises. Perfect film for having on in the background while you’re playing a game of cards.
Rating: 3/5
So let’s add this lot to the running tally.
16 films so far…
- Flight (Viewed: 01/01/13 | Rating: 4/5)
- Beasts of the Southern Wild (Viewed: 09/01/13 | Rating: 3/5)
- Gangster Squad (Viewed: 15/01/13 | Rating: 4/5)
- Les Miserables (Viewed: 23/01/13 | Rating: 5/5)
- Django Unchained (Viewed: 25/01/13 | Rating: 5/5)
- Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (Viewed: 27/01/13 | Rating: 4/5)
- Another Earth (Viewed: 29/01/13 | Rating: 4/5)
- The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (Viewed: 07/02/13 | Rating: 1/5)
- Young Adult (Viewed: 19/02/13 | Rating: 4/5)
- Wreck-It Ralph (Viewed: 20/02/13 | Rating: 4/5)
- The Sandlot (Viewed: 09/03/13 | Rating: 4/5)
- John Carter (Viewed: 13/03/13 | Rating: 2/5)
- We Bought a Zoo (Viewed: 15/03/13 | Rating: 3/5)
- Blazing Saddles (Viewed: 23/03/13 | Rating: 4/5)
- Project Nim (Viewed: 24/03/13 | Rating: 3/5)
- Oblivion (Viewed: 12/04/13 | Rating: 3/5)
I saw the trailers for ‘Oblivion’ and thought it looked pretty good. Which pissed me off because I’m no fan of Tom Cruise, or more to the point, his Scientologist beliefs. And I have no desire to spend money on watching a film he’s in, knowing that it will eventually end up in the coffers of a church/cult I ethically oppose. (That said, there are films he’s in that I like, such as ‘Top Gun’.)
I’m kind of glad to hear that it isn’t as great as the trailers led me to believe. Reading your review makes me think of the old adage, “Never judge a book by its cover.” Or in this case, “Never judge a film by the trailers.”
Trailers are just misdirection. Mostly. Love the excitement they build, but it’s always sad when the film’s a let down.
Congrats on the new man in your life!
I quite enjoyed The Sandlot too, maybe I would have liked it even more, if I had discovered it when I was same age as boys. (saw it in my 20s)
Think I’m gonna pass on Oblivion, doesn’t seem to be that great. I thought M83’s soundtrack was a bit samey. Only track I really liked was Oblivion – M83 (feat. Susanne Sundfor)
That’s a good track, a stand out for me too. But yes, very samey. Listening to it I just wanted more M83-ness out of it.
I’m probably going to see Oblivion soon, I don’t expect anything groundbreaking just hoping for good sci-fi 🙂 I really want to see We Bought a Zoo for Elle Fanning.
Elle Fanning is so adorably cute in We Bought a Zoo. But not annoyingly so. Just the perfect amount.
Just posted my review of Oblivion. I was pretty impressed with it. Wreck-It Ralph was ok. It did have some heart but I thought it was all over the place in the second half of the movie. Blazing Saddles – what a comedy classic! Wasn’t crazy about We Bought A Zoo.
And then there’s John Carter. I’m one of the few that actually had fun with it. But it’s been a long time since that first viewing so I really need to revisit it. It may not hold up at all.
I remember there were some aspects of John Carter which really worked for me. The ending was fairly satisfying, but it was a bit all over the shop in the middle for me.
Aww, sad you didnt love Blazing Saddles. That’s one of the funniest movies ever, in my book!
John Carter did kinda suck though, didnt it? 😀
Didn’t love, but thoroughly enjoyed. That counts, right?
Sure, I guess… a little. 😉 😀
I actually dont like Tom Cruise as an actor, but many of his movies are iconic.
Minority Report has become a milestone.
Oblivion is in the same category for me and was excellent.
Catching up with Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad is seriously getting in my way of seeing more movies! I really want to see Project Nim!
Be warned, you might need a tissue while watching Project Nim. Or that just might be my pansy self!
I never saw the classic, Sandlot either.
It’s a really fun film. Maybe when J’s a little older he might even get something out of it.
The Sandlot! Love that movie, one of my favorites as a kid, too.
I had a similar reaction as you for Blazing Saddles. Some of it was hilarious, but yeah, certain bits went on too long.
Still need to see Wreck-It Ralph!
It’s funny, the simple gags in Blazing Saddles, like guy who always knocked his head on the window, always got a laugh out of me, but some of the other long ones were just too long.
Wreck-It Ralph is very good. Story is very cutesy and Disney-y, but still a good animated flick.
Blazing Saddles is hilarious, but you’re right that it’s not as good as Young Frankenstein.
John Carter was trying to be pulp sci-fi, which is what it’s based on. I actually thought it hit the mark very well — it’s just that it’s a mark that very few people in the audience would want to see hit nowadays.
It’s strange, I’m usually a fan of pulp sci-fi but something in John Carter just didn’t connect with me. If I was kind, I’d want to give it another shot. But, sadly, I’m not.
Who needs movies when you’ve got a new man in your life 😉 Hey, don’t feel bad that you just saw 7 movies. I’ve been planning to do a Jimmy Stewart marathon this year and I’ve seen only ONE since I announced it half a year ago, ahah! It’s been the case of ‘too many movies, too little time’ for me lately.
Definitely relate to the “too many movies, too little time”. I have a tonne recorded and never get round to them.
Well I’ve experiencing the same thing (new man in life a.k.a slow blogging). But he love movies too so it’s a win win 😀 I’ve been slower than usual though. I too loved Wreck it Ralph and yes We Bought A Zoo isn’t original but still an excellent watch.
We Bought a Zoo had its moments, but yeah, not entirely original.
Some cool movies and some I have not seen yet. Have seen Blazing Saddles and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not really a Brooks fan. I really enjoyed John Carter. So 16 movies in 4 months…you are going to have to ramp up a bit to be able to make it to 100 this year 😉
Somehow, I don’t think I’m going to make my 100 again this year!
Load up your Nexus with a couple of movies and watch more on the go or somewhere else 🙂
I really should! It just feels ” wrong” to watch films I’ve never seen on a small screen with headphones. I need to get over that!
Trust me, it isn’t. Just earlier this week when there was nothing on the TV (and when I was too lazy to pick up my Apple TV remote) I started watching a movie on it. Holding it up in the air next to TV I noticed it was just as big (because it is closer to your face). Give it a try…if you have some good headphones you really don’t miss much. It’s the way I do most of my movie watching….else I’d probably have seen the same amount of movies you have. Now I have already broken the 100 movies barrier 😉
Jesus! That’s a heck of a lot of films already, congrats on that Nostra!
I do need some decent over the head headphones. Got a nice pair of in-ear Sennheisers right now, but not all that comfy after a couple of hours.
That’s because I’m on public transport about 1 and a half hours each day, that way it’s easy to get to that number. I’m using some in ear Sennheisers as well. Ever since I switched to them (after first using Sony and Philips) I don’t want any other brand anymore, the sound is really good.
I’m interested to hear what your experience is on watching something on the Nexus…
btw, since you like your gadgets, there is this really cool keyboard for it, which you can get here: http://dx.com/p/bg-7-rechargeable-wireless-bluetooth-61-key-keyboard-for-google-nexus-7-silver-black-175448
The back feels the same as for the Nexus and you can click the two together to form a shell, well worth having.
The Sandlot! Yeah! One of my favourites from childhood…glad you enjoyed it Jaina!
I’m also one who has not yet seen Sandlot, so you’re not alone on that.
I will have to disagree when it comes to Oblivion. Even though Cruise does bring a certain charisma and energy to the role, I found the film suffered rather than gained from his presence on the screen. I never really related to him as a person and, as a result, his struggle to find his true purpose, his true identity and piece together his past felt a bit meaningless for me. The film is a wonder to look at and for this reason alone I might watch it again in the future.