Thought I'd keep the same format as last year - it's really predominantly for my own benefit so everyone else can feel free to ignore this thread if they so wish ... in much the same way as the vast majority did the last one
Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Joss Whedon, 2015)
Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975) +
Blood And Bone (Ben Ramsay, 2009)
Boot Camp aka Punishment (Christian Duguay, 2008) +
Café Metropole (Edward H. Griffith, 1937)
Dance, Girl, Dance (Frank R. Strayer, 1933)
Gatti rossi in un labirinto di vetro [Eyeball aka The Secret Killer] (Umberto Lenzi, 1975)
Gone With The Wind (Victor Fleming, George Cukor & Sam Wood, 1939)
Hitlerjunge Salomon [Europa Europs] (Agnieszka Holland, 1990) +
Identity Thief (Seth Gordon, 2013) +
If I Were King (Frank Lloyd, 1938)
Insidious: Chapter 3 (Leigh Whannell, 2015) +
Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow, 2015) +
Kreuzweg [Stations Of The Cross] (Dietrich Brüggemann, 2014)
Ladies In Love (Edward H. Griffith, 1936) +
Late Extra (Albert Parker, 1935)
Mazurka (Willi Forst, 1935)
Merrily We Go To Hell (Dorothy Arzner, 1932) +
No Good Deed (Sam Miller, 2014)
Paura nella cittŕ dei morti viventi [City Of The Living Dead aka The Gates Of Hell] (Lucio Fulci, 1980)
Secretary (Steven Shainberg, 2002)
Strangers On A Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951)
The Hunter (Daniel Nettheim, 2011)
The Paperboy (Lee Daniels, 2012)
The Rise And Rise Of Michael Rimmer (Kevin Billington, 1970) +
The Three Musketeers (Allan Dwan, 1939) +
Triangle (Christopher Smith, 2009)
Twin Husbands (Frank R. Strayer, 1933) +
When A Stranger Calls (Simon West, 2006)
JANUARY (pt. i) (29)
Avengers: Age Of Ultron (Joss Whedon, 2015)
Superhero adventure that's a reasonably fun watch in places but for me the primary tale is overly padded and the action becomes rather tedious
Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975) +
Very nice period adventure/drama laced with dry humour that's a beautiful visually with some nice performances and remains quite a fascinating tale even if a little slow in pace
Blood And Bone (Ben Ramsay, 2009)
Moderate martial arts outing that's mixed in terms of its fight sequences and drama, rather ludicrous in it's depiction of 'organised street fighting' and rather unoriginal in terms of narrative but is watchable and even enjoyable to an extent
Boot Camp aka Punishment (Christian Duguay, 2008) +
Substandard drama supposed cloaked in reality in which the acting, dialogue and camerawork/editing is dreadful at times and though the drab tone may suit the tale it makes the viewing experience an uncomfortable one but probably not in the way intended
Café Metropole (Edward H. Griffith, 1937)
Comedy romance with some decent performances and nice lines that's a fairly entertaining watch even though the plot is rather flimsy and feels just a little drawn out
Dance, Girl, Dance (Frank R. Strayer, 1933)
Passable light-hearted musical drama that never really rises above mediocre and has the odd sound issue but does have a couple of decent enough performances from Ms, Knapp and Ms. Busch and the tale is reasonably well presented
Gatti rossi in un labirinto di vetro [Eyeball aka The Secret Killer] (Umberto Lenzi, 1975)
Modest slasher that has some really poor dialogue and stiff acting but the tale is serviceable and the whole has a certain cheesy charm despite it's weaknesses
Gone With The Wind (Victor Fleming, George Cukor & Sam Wood, 1939)
Epic period romantic drama that has some marvellous imagery within a great story but although the first half passes fairly swiftly for me the second half drags a fair bit and even some nice, dramatic interplay between Ms. Leigh and Mr. Gable and an iconic ending can't completely compensate for that
Hitlerjunge Salomon [Europa Europs] (Agnieszka Holland, 1990) +
Remarkable wartime tale based on reality but personally I'd have preferred a less frivolous tone to much of proceedings as whilst it allows a little ridicule every now and then for me it undermines the tale as a whole
Identity Thief (Seth Gordon, 2013) +
Comedy that has a few worthwhile moments but it's mostly unexceptional fare in a pretty formulaic tale that lacks originality
If I Were King (Frank Lloyd, 1938)
Predominantly light-hearted period swashbuckler with it's roots in reality that's nicely paced and acted (especially Messrs. Rathbone and Colman) and highly entertaining
Insidious: Chapter 3 (Leigh Whannell, 2015) +
Horror that's watchable but lacking in scares, very predictable and little more than a pastiche of eighties fare though sadly without that decade's charming cheese
Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow, 2015) +
Sci-adventure that imo would have been better without either the primary subplot or occasional attempts at comedy and has more than it's fair share of irritations but most of the action is acceptable and the whole a reasonably fun outing
Kreuzweg [Stations Of The Cross] (Dietrich Brüggemann, 2014)
Powerful minimalistic drama centred around a fantastic first time performance from Ms. van Acken in the lead and although religious in content it's impact is in no way limited purely to those of faith imo
Ladies In Love (Edward H. Griffith, 1936) +
Romantic comedy that has some nice performances and is amusing in places but the narrative is fairly fragmented and sadly lacking in spark which diminishes interest and makes proceedings feel all of the runtime and then some imo
Late Extra (Albert Parker, 1935)
Low-budget crime thriller that doesn't really bring a lot new to the table and suffers at times with a little poor dialogue but moves along at a decent clip and it's little quirks make it an interesting enough watch
Mazurka (Willi Forst, 1935)
Crime drama with its roots in reality that's well acted (especially by Ms. Negri) with some interesting camerawork and transitions and the tale easily holds attention even though there are no real surprises
Merrily We Go To Hell (Dorothy Arzner, 1932) +
Romance that mixes comedy with drama fairly effectively and Ms. Sydney lights up the screen but although the tale remains of interest it's arc is rather predictable
No Good Deed (Sam Miller, 2014)
Home invasion thriller with a decent enough performance from both leads and manages to build a few pockets of atmosphere but is undermined by character actions that are just simply too unrealistic to disregard
Paura nella cittŕ dei morti viventi [City Of The Living Dead aka The Gates Of Hell] (Lucio Fulci, 1980)
Zombie horror that has some fun effects and creates nice atmosphere at points and although both acting and dialogue can certainly be picked at is an entertaining enough watch
Secretary (Steven Shainberg, 2002)
Whimsical romantic drama that may not have the greatest amount of depth to it's story but it's interestingly offbeat and conveyed with a level of charm and Ms. Gyllenhaal is an absolute delight
Strangers On A Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951)
Wife's choice, top tier Hitch imo - comments from previous watch here
The Hunter (Daniel Nettheim, 2011)
Modest adventure drama that struggles for believability but is quite watchable nonetheless with some nice cinematography and ambience when out in the wild
The Paperboy (Lee Daniels, 2012)
Thriller that's nicely acted but not a tale I care much for in either content or some of the delivery and I struggle to buy Messrs. Efron and McConaughey being related whilst for me the casting of Mr. Oyelowo is quite bizarre in terms of his characters heritage
The Rise And Rise Of Michael Rimmer (Kevin Billington, 1970) +
Satirical British comedy taking potshots primarily at the political establishment but also the media and armed forces too which has a star-studded cast and certainly hits the mark in terms of spin and insincerity but the wry humour is somewhat hit and miss and the overall tone a little flat
The Three Musketeers (Allan Dwan, 1939) +
Musical comedy swashbuckling adventure that's a pretty fun romp (despite some missing frames and foreign intertitles in the print I watched) thanks to it's lead Mr. Ameche and the antics of The Ritz Brothers
Triangle (Christopher Smith, 2009)
Mystery thriller with a nice enough concept that does get somewhat confusing but imo that actually helps it play out quite nicely as never quite sure who to be rooting for
Twin Husbands (Frank R. Strayer, 1933) +
Modest crime drama that gets a little too convoluted for it's own good imo but at just over an hour it's an easy enough watch that skips along pretty quickly
When A Stranger Calls (Simon West, 2006)
Home invasion thriller that has some irritating editing in the early stages, is rather repetitive in it's build up and the coda unoriginal but the set/location is good and the action when it finally begins is adequate
Last edited by Chypmunk; 01-15-18 at 05:59 PM.