I have always enjoyed films. I practically grew up on them, and have preferred it to most forms of entertainment, with little to no hesitation. I'd almost go as far to say I'm a cinemaphile, but I never took it on academically. Over the years I have seen many, many films, and over time I find myself forgetting many of these films. Whether that says something about the quality of these films remains to be seen. I have decided to keep track of which films I have seen, starting from the year 2009.
Below are films I have seen and have left a comment and rating as to how I perceived the films. There are also release dates to help me keep track of when I might have seen it (all release dates are for the UK of course, being a British citizen). Further below are the films I hoped to had seen in the cinema, but unfortunately have missed, and further below that are the films I hope to see this year, and the two years following.
Past
editFilms that stood out for me in recent history.
Pages
edit2010
editSeen
editFilm | Release date | Comments | Rating |
---|---|---|---|
Kick-Ass | 26-Mar-2010 | To be honest, I was never really excited by the film and I haven't read the comics, so I just didn't know what to expect when I was convinced to watch it. I was VERY surprised. It turned out to be a enjoyable film, quirky and crazy. I admit I found it to be interesting how they try to move the superhero world into the reality of life. And, well, the action kicked ARSE. I'm impressed by director Matthew Vaughn's job, and admit it works well as an indie flick with a lotta of liberal takes on brutal vengeance. I don't think no major distributor would've allowed for this with their say! The actors worked VERY well together, and the dialogue was fluid but occasionally ropey - I get bothered by 'teen film dialogue' in films as it often feels to over the top and irritating. I am impressed with the finished product, considering the $35mill budget, and I'm glad I saw it. | 7.5/10 |
An enjoyably nutty take on a 'realistic' world of costumed heroes. | |||
Clash of the Titans (in 3D) |
2-Apr-2010 | Some time last year I came across this film right here on Wikipedia, and when I read the film's premise I was excited! I also felt with Louis Leterrier directing, the action should be something gratifying especially. I was so excited I found myself keeping an eye on the trailers, something I tend to steer from when I'm interested in a film (adds a nice surprise in what's to come during the film.) Well, true to Leterrier's eye for epic magnitude action, it delivered. However, I felt so mislead I was disappointed in what I saw. There was a LOT of talk going on, and I found myself being irritated, wondering when the action will start. It's basically only in the second half. The acting was simple too, Sam Worthington showed no real range, just action, and the other actors passed for suitable. Nothing really stood out to to me. I did find myself however getting confused easily about who said what about who before doing what to deserve who's wrath. That, and what the hell was going on in the scorpion scene - took a while to realise there's more than one! The visual were notably good. Music was fine. I think that's the thing about this film though. It's mostly "fine," there's no real reaching out or daringness on the cast and crew side outside of visuals. I was surprised by the decency of the 3D considering it was a post-filming add. Better than the shoddy job on The Final Destination. It's a fine film, can be enjoyed just as much though on a good quality home system. | 6/10 |
Expecting pure action, I realised I was mislead by this film's ads. | |||
Iron Man 2 | 30-Apr-2010 | I thought the previous film was a great well-rounded action film, despite the final fight scene, and I've anticipated more from this comic book character's on-screen story since. Perhaps more too due to the inclusion of Marvel characters such as Nick Fury and Black Widow that this film has, as well as the supposed leads into future Marvel Studios films Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America it had been said to have. Then again, I held great skepticism over the film. "Can they REALLY match the magic of the previous flick?" The answer to that is - no. Not a bad thing though. The first film was full of charm and flare, easy on the eyes and sweet on the tongue. This film is more gritty, there's a personal vendetta in this film from the primary antagonist, Ivan Vanko (aka Whiplash), portrayed very well as a Russian by Rourke. Downey portrays the plight of Stark impressively, as Stark tries to deal with the public demand with the world knowing he's Iron Man, but at the same time coping with the fact that he's dying due to poisening from his chest piece. This film draws more into the character yet remains aloof from being a depressing film. The tone is very different from the light-hearted first film, but it's just as enjoyable. No mistake though - there's still a sense of humour that works well throughout, but it's clear that growth is abound, which can be seen by the way Favreau directed this with better result - the action scenes were incredible, and the pacing is just right. Admittedly at times it felt like it was dragging with talking scenes, but then I realised that was my eagerness to see more of Iron Man in action - I can't be blamed can I? The story was good, and the dialogue was nice. Standout acting went to Rourke, with a great performance by Downey. Paltrow, Favreau, Jackson were all good, despite no real character development. I expected better from Rockwell - I thought Hammer would be more edgy seeing as he competes with Stark - however he seems to grow into character more as the film progresses, showing more passion later. I was a lil disappointed by Cheadle's portrayel of Rhodey also. Not because it was bad, but it just didn't stand out. He didn't own it, and I consider Cheadle to be a very good actor - the character was just there really. Johansson did however surprise me. Not with her acting though - she didn't really have many lines - but by her performance with the fight scenes were astoundingly lethal, the way Black Widow should be! Overall great experience, and the little easter eggs alluding to future franchises from other characters peppered throughout was very cool to me. Recommendable film, very enjoyable. | 8/10 |
I geeked out at this film - happily entertained. | |||
Robin Hood | 14-May-2010 | Simply descrbing this film, it's the prequel to the common depiction of Robin Hood. Why is this important for me to mention? Because it's not at all what I expected going into this film. I'd find myself part-way through the film watching the time, heavily anticipating the "stealing from the rich and giving to the poor," as well as a nice lesson being taught to the monarchy over-ruled by Prince John. It left me disappointed and confused seeing this film play out with only a hint of this being seen on the screen. I wasn't happy. However, after deliberating on it after, I realised as a film I rather enjoyed it. With Ridley Scott helming this take it should be an interesting view on the this classic English character, and interesting it was. A fully drawn back-story of Robin becoming a "hood" takes effect, and a pretty well-made one at that. Robin, portrayed well with an English accent by Russel Crowe, is truly broken down to understand why he must help the less-privileged. A version of the back-story for all familiar characters are given, but then again nothing significant goes to most. Those near a position of power desire to acquire wealth, others want a united kingdom led by a respected monarchy, and the rest desire to get drunk. The choice of visual capture was truly glorious of English land, and the story itself was interesting, however, the pacing of the film could've been picked up far better. The score greatly complimented the film however, allowing for great build-up and a good finish on the enjoyable action sequences. Overall a nice film, but not what I deep down expected. | 7/10 |
Stole from the time, but gave with the quality. |
Missed out
edit- 15-Jan-2010 — The Book of Eli
- 12-Feb-2010 — The Wolfman — Keeping an eye on it, but so far it seems like they have a good set of people all over this.
- 05-Mar-2010 — Alice in Wonderland — Great crew behind a classic tale. Can't deny I was enthralled by the Disney animated film as a kid, it blew my imagination away.
- 12-Mar-2010 — Shutter Island
- 05-Apr-2010 — Tekken [home release only] — Loved the game, so I naturally gotta check the film out. Typical of past film adaption’s from games though, I just won't expect it to be good.
Still to come...
editFilm | Release date | Comments |
---|---|---|
Predators | 07-Jul-2010 | I've always been a fan of the Predator character. Don't like the way all these sequels have made for a lesser-respected overall franchise (Alien vs. Predator) but I'm hoping Robert Rodriguez has what it takes to put it all in order with the Predators. |
Inception | 16-Jul-2010 | There's just something really eerily cool and sublimely interesting about the minute-long tralier. Besides, i've really enjoyed all of Christopher Nolan's films in the past decade, and this seems to be something that'll just add to that. He has a unique eye for doing different films and still making it very watchable, even to the mainstream. |
Toy Story 3 | 23-Jul-2010 | I have loved both films before this and am very excited to see this one. With Pixar behind this, I can't imagine it going wrong. |
The A-Team | 30-Jul-2010 | Was a fan of the TV show, can't NOT watch this! |
The Expendables | 13-Aug-2010 | Good looking excuse for brutal beatdowns. |
Saw VII | 22-Oct-2010 | I enjoy the franchise. |
Tron Legacy | 26-Dec-2010 | Trailer. |
No dates:
Anticipating
edit2011
edit- The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn
- The Bear and the Bow
- Bond 23
- Cars 2
- Cowboys & Aliens
- The First Avenger: Captain America
- Green Lantern
- The Hobbit
- Mission: Impossible IV
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- Sucker Punch
- Thor
2012
edit