Films and books round up - second half
Jan. 1st, 2015 04:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rich_jackoI meant to do this post a couple of days ago, but got distracted by snow ;o)
Here's the round-up for the last six months of 2014:
FILMS:
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared - Charming, quirky and entertaining enough that I felt I had to read the book immediately.
The Blues Brothers - Somehow I'd never seen this, so thank you Cineworld for bringing it back for one night only. It's fun and I'm glad I saw it, but I think it had been built up in my mind as something more than it was.
How To Train Your Dragon 2 - A worthy sequel. Dragons plus Vikings is still a winning combination. The Goblin didn't like the kissing parts.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Lacklustre and unnecessary sequel-to-the-prequel to the Planet of the Apes. "Rise" was very good. Don't bother with "Dawn".
Guardians of the Galaxy - A gang of misfits concocted from every sci-fi roleplaying party ever. By no means a classic, but an awful lot of mindless fun. The soundtrack helps, as does Groot.
The Expendables 3 - The law of diminishing sequels applies. This series has now become expendable.
Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For - Another uninspiring sequel. It's similar to the first, but somehow lacking. Plus the continuity is confusing and all over the place.
Lucy - Scarlett Johansson goes super-smart then all Akira. Quite astonishingly bad. Possibly one for a trashy movie night.
Before I Go To Sleep - Nicole Kidman wakes up every day with no memory. What happened to her, and who can she trust? A tense and psychologically scary mystery. Worth watching.
The Boxtrolls - Charming stop-motion animation with a bit of an Aardman feel to it. Boy meets girl. Boy thinks he's a troll. Girl's father wants to kill all trolls. You get the gist. Best animated film of the year (apart from a certain Movie of Awesome).
What We Did On Our Holiday - A different cast, but this is essentially "Outnumbered - The Movie". That's no bad thing. All the cast are excellent, but an extra hurrah for Billy Connolly.
Pride - Feel-good comedy based on the true story of a London LGBT group supporting the Welsh miners' strike in the 1980s. Hugely enjoyable from start to finish. Highly recommended.
Life After Beth - The latest entry in the Rom-Zom-Com genre. Slow to get going, but really twistedly funny towards the end.
Dracula Untold - A Dracula origin story which wasn't as terrible as I was hoping for. Not enjoyably bad, just bad.
Gone Girl - I wasn't gripped by the thought of a 2.5 hour film about Ben Affleck being suspected of killing his wife, but went on the strength of the reviews. It was very good. The initial twist was kind of obvious, but once revealed, the plot keeps on twisting and it turns into a much better film.
The Babadook - Aussie horror film in which a monster from a mysterious children's book comes to life. It's very good in its portrayal of a messed-up family, but the monster is rather disappointing.
The Book of Life 3D - Wacky Mexican animation based on the Day of the Dead. Del Toro's influence is obvious, and the film's not without it's charms, but "the land of the forgotten" was an unsettling concept which was never resolved.
Nightcrawler - Jake Gyllenhaal as an amateur cameraman willing to go to any lengths to get a scoop. Dark, moody and good as far as it goes, but the film feels like it's building to a thrid act which never comes. Ultimately unsatisfying.
The Judge - Robert Downey Jr does for lawyers what he previously did for genius billionaire playboy philanthropists. Well-acted and worth a watch if it's on, but don't make a special effort to see it.
Interstellar - Chris Nolan does space travel. Not as clever as many of his other films, but it's spectacular and still worth a watch. Bears more than a passing resemblence to Contact.
The Imitation Game - Benedict "I'm in everything" Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing alongside Kiera Knightly in this biopic about the man behind the code-cracking machine. You probably won't learn anything new, but it's very well done.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Relief that this trilogy is finally over. Not quite as bad as the first two. Full review here.
Big Eyes - The true story of artist Margaret Keane and the abusive husband who took credit for her work. Tim Burton does a proper, grown-up film with not a trace of wacky weirdness (apart from one creepy scene in a supermarket). It turns out he's rather good at it.
BOOKS:
Discworld: The Last Hero through to Thud! (Terry Pratchett) - I'm getting there with my Discworld marathon! Still enjoying them. The satire is still brilliant. The Tiffany Aching books have completely reversed my original impression of the Nac Mac Feegle. Oh, and Monstrous Regiment deserves a special mention.
Rob Roy (Sir Walter Scott) - I was going to Glasgow, so I felt I ought to read this classic. I enjoyed it, but it's not as action-packed as the blurb makes out. It suffers from the protagonist being mostly a by-stander in bigger events, and the resolution happens "off the page" when he's not even there.
The Brits Who Built The Modern World (Mike Althorpe and others, RIBA) - Accompanies the BBC series and the RIBA exhibition I went to in London. A celebration of great British architects.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 9 (Joss Whedon / Andrew Chambliss / Georges Janty / et al) - I didn't particularly like the end of Season 8, so I've been away from Buffy for a while, but this was excellent - much more character-driven and a "back to basics" feel, plus various characters get their own spin-off adventures too.
Transformers - ongoing comics series (John Barber / James Roberts) - After some extremely strong stories dealing with complex themes, this has gone a bit downhill again, almost to the level of a cartoon based on children's toys. Who'd have thought it?
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared / The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden (Jonas Jonasson) - I loved these quirky stories. Jonasson writes characters who deal with whatever life throws at them - up to and including nuclear bombs - in an upbeat, matrter-of-fact way. "Whatever will be will be".
Titanic And The Strange Case Of Great Uncle Bertie (Valentine Palmer) - A freebie from Galaxy 4. The author pieces together his great uncle's story as the highest ranking officer to survive the Titanic. Somewhat undermined by his subscribing to one of the popular (and disproven) conspiracy theories.
The Art of Dreamworks Animation (Ramin Zahed) - What it says on the tin. Everything from Antz to the upcoming Home. Very pretty.
Hard Times (Charles Dickens) - It's Dickens, so you know the drill. Families with secrets, poor folk trying to make their way in a cruel world, etc. Supposedly one of his most uplifting, but actually the title is pretty accurate. Good though, and quite a short read.
The Republic of Thieves (Scott Lynch) - The continuing explots of the Gentlemen Bastards. Lynch has still got it, and it's great to finally meet the legendary Sabetha. However, as others have said, it's a shame there was no grand scam and the sense of danger is somewhat lacking.
Good Omens (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman) - I finally read this (and now need to catch up on the radio play) in two days over Christmas. All the best ingredients from two of my favourite authors. Quite, quite brilliant and very hard to put down.
The Red House (Mark Haddon) - Two (related) families share a Herefordshire cottage for a week together. Every possible tension that could snap does. Strong, identifiable characters, even if they're not very likeable.
I had foolishly resolved to get my "to read" pile down in 2014, by reading books faster than I bought them. I half-managed it, getting the pile down from 20 at the start of the year to 13 at the end. It doesn't need to get down to zero (I need choice of what to read next, after all!) but it would be good to knock it down a bit further in 2015. I've made a New Year's resolution to stay off the interwebs at weekends if possible, which should help!
P.S. - Thank you to Adam for hosting an excellent New Year party last night, and to the Nightingales for bringing the comedy moustaches, glasses, etc! I didn't get any photos, but I see there are a few floating around :o)
Here's the round-up for the last six months of 2014:
FILMS:
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared - Charming, quirky and entertaining enough that I felt I had to read the book immediately.
The Blues Brothers - Somehow I'd never seen this, so thank you Cineworld for bringing it back for one night only. It's fun and I'm glad I saw it, but I think it had been built up in my mind as something more than it was.
How To Train Your Dragon 2 - A worthy sequel. Dragons plus Vikings is still a winning combination. The Goblin didn't like the kissing parts.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - Lacklustre and unnecessary sequel-to-the-prequel to the Planet of the Apes. "Rise" was very good. Don't bother with "Dawn".
Guardians of the Galaxy - A gang of misfits concocted from every sci-fi roleplaying party ever. By no means a classic, but an awful lot of mindless fun. The soundtrack helps, as does Groot.
The Expendables 3 - The law of diminishing sequels applies. This series has now become expendable.
Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For - Another uninspiring sequel. It's similar to the first, but somehow lacking. Plus the continuity is confusing and all over the place.
Lucy - Scarlett Johansson goes super-smart then all Akira. Quite astonishingly bad. Possibly one for a trashy movie night.
Before I Go To Sleep - Nicole Kidman wakes up every day with no memory. What happened to her, and who can she trust? A tense and psychologically scary mystery. Worth watching.
The Boxtrolls - Charming stop-motion animation with a bit of an Aardman feel to it. Boy meets girl. Boy thinks he's a troll. Girl's father wants to kill all trolls. You get the gist. Best animated film of the year (apart from a certain Movie of Awesome).
What We Did On Our Holiday - A different cast, but this is essentially "Outnumbered - The Movie". That's no bad thing. All the cast are excellent, but an extra hurrah for Billy Connolly.
Pride - Feel-good comedy based on the true story of a London LGBT group supporting the Welsh miners' strike in the 1980s. Hugely enjoyable from start to finish. Highly recommended.
Life After Beth - The latest entry in the Rom-Zom-Com genre. Slow to get going, but really twistedly funny towards the end.
Dracula Untold - A Dracula origin story which wasn't as terrible as I was hoping for. Not enjoyably bad, just bad.
Gone Girl - I wasn't gripped by the thought of a 2.5 hour film about Ben Affleck being suspected of killing his wife, but went on the strength of the reviews. It was very good. The initial twist was kind of obvious, but once revealed, the plot keeps on twisting and it turns into a much better film.
The Babadook - Aussie horror film in which a monster from a mysterious children's book comes to life. It's very good in its portrayal of a messed-up family, but the monster is rather disappointing.
The Book of Life 3D - Wacky Mexican animation based on the Day of the Dead. Del Toro's influence is obvious, and the film's not without it's charms, but "the land of the forgotten" was an unsettling concept which was never resolved.
Nightcrawler - Jake Gyllenhaal as an amateur cameraman willing to go to any lengths to get a scoop. Dark, moody and good as far as it goes, but the film feels like it's building to a thrid act which never comes. Ultimately unsatisfying.
The Judge - Robert Downey Jr does for lawyers what he previously did for genius billionaire playboy philanthropists. Well-acted and worth a watch if it's on, but don't make a special effort to see it.
Interstellar - Chris Nolan does space travel. Not as clever as many of his other films, but it's spectacular and still worth a watch. Bears more than a passing resemblence to Contact.
The Imitation Game - Benedict "I'm in everything" Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing alongside Kiera Knightly in this biopic about the man behind the code-cracking machine. You probably won't learn anything new, but it's very well done.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Relief that this trilogy is finally over. Not quite as bad as the first two. Full review here.
Big Eyes - The true story of artist Margaret Keane and the abusive husband who took credit for her work. Tim Burton does a proper, grown-up film with not a trace of wacky weirdness (apart from one creepy scene in a supermarket). It turns out he's rather good at it.
BOOKS:
Discworld: The Last Hero through to Thud! (Terry Pratchett) - I'm getting there with my Discworld marathon! Still enjoying them. The satire is still brilliant. The Tiffany Aching books have completely reversed my original impression of the Nac Mac Feegle. Oh, and Monstrous Regiment deserves a special mention.
Rob Roy (Sir Walter Scott) - I was going to Glasgow, so I felt I ought to read this classic. I enjoyed it, but it's not as action-packed as the blurb makes out. It suffers from the protagonist being mostly a by-stander in bigger events, and the resolution happens "off the page" when he's not even there.
The Brits Who Built The Modern World (Mike Althorpe and others, RIBA) - Accompanies the BBC series and the RIBA exhibition I went to in London. A celebration of great British architects.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 9 (Joss Whedon / Andrew Chambliss / Georges Janty / et al) - I didn't particularly like the end of Season 8, so I've been away from Buffy for a while, but this was excellent - much more character-driven and a "back to basics" feel, plus various characters get their own spin-off adventures too.
Transformers - ongoing comics series (John Barber / James Roberts) - After some extremely strong stories dealing with complex themes, this has gone a bit downhill again, almost to the level of a cartoon based on children's toys. Who'd have thought it?
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared / The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden (Jonas Jonasson) - I loved these quirky stories. Jonasson writes characters who deal with whatever life throws at them - up to and including nuclear bombs - in an upbeat, matrter-of-fact way. "Whatever will be will be".
Titanic And The Strange Case Of Great Uncle Bertie (Valentine Palmer) - A freebie from Galaxy 4. The author pieces together his great uncle's story as the highest ranking officer to survive the Titanic. Somewhat undermined by his subscribing to one of the popular (and disproven) conspiracy theories.
The Art of Dreamworks Animation (Ramin Zahed) - What it says on the tin. Everything from Antz to the upcoming Home. Very pretty.
Hard Times (Charles Dickens) - It's Dickens, so you know the drill. Families with secrets, poor folk trying to make their way in a cruel world, etc. Supposedly one of his most uplifting, but actually the title is pretty accurate. Good though, and quite a short read.
The Republic of Thieves (Scott Lynch) - The continuing explots of the Gentlemen Bastards. Lynch has still got it, and it's great to finally meet the legendary Sabetha. However, as others have said, it's a shame there was no grand scam and the sense of danger is somewhat lacking.
Good Omens (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman) - I finally read this (and now need to catch up on the radio play) in two days over Christmas. All the best ingredients from two of my favourite authors. Quite, quite brilliant and very hard to put down.
The Red House (Mark Haddon) - Two (related) families share a Herefordshire cottage for a week together. Every possible tension that could snap does. Strong, identifiable characters, even if they're not very likeable.
I had foolishly resolved to get my "to read" pile down in 2014, by reading books faster than I bought them. I half-managed it, getting the pile down from 20 at the start of the year to 13 at the end. It doesn't need to get down to zero (I need choice of what to read next, after all!) but it would be good to knock it down a bit further in 2015. I've made a New Year's resolution to stay off the interwebs at weekends if possible, which should help!
P.S. - Thank you to Adam for hosting an excellent New Year party last night, and to the Nightingales for bringing the comedy moustaches, glasses, etc! I didn't get any photos, but I see there are a few floating around :o)
