Best Of 2013

Having been listening to the GiantBombcast this week and last, I have been reminded that I haven't done a 'Best of' for 2013 yet. Basically, I haven't created my lists for Best Videogames or Best Films of the year.

I don't do Best Albums/Singles because, quite frankly I don't really actively follow musicians or musical acts anymore. I'll track down a track I've heard on TV or on the radio, or I'll check out albums from artists I used to like, but beyond that, I don't have a vested interest in music to that extent so there won't be a Best Of for that medium.

I'll be reminding myself of the Films and Games that actually came out in 2013 because it's so easy to forgot those that were released in the obscure early months of the year (particularly for films, as January is the Oscar nominees month...), and within the next day or two, I hope to compile my final lists. I don't think I've actually played ten games this year, as was the case last year, but I'll give it a go!

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

A film of two halves, in some ways. Not in terms of structure, but in terms of what's actually funny.

The dialogue, at times, is really funny. Alan's asides are perhaps the best thing in the TV series, and again, they're really good here. But it feels like everything else is poor. For what it's worth, I can't stand Colm Meaney, but I think his character is just badly written. I know he's central to the plot (obviously) but I think he's actually useless in a comedic sense.

There's another aspect of Partridge that generally hinders the material for me, and this extends across the whole franchise. It always feels like it's produced in a vacuum, something which obviously reflects Alan's own archaic lifestyle and personality, but for some reason it just feels very one-dimensional and isolated. 

All in all, it's a way to pass the time, and if you're a fan of Alan (which I am, a lot) then it's certainly worth watching. I preferred The Trip for what it actually achieves, in terms of post-I'm Alan Partridge work, but the film is okay.

6.5/10

No idea what's happening with the colouring on this one, but it seems to be a one-off!

Modern Family

When I was first recommended Modern Family, I assumed it was nothing more than a generic, Network friendly sitcom with predictable laughter cues, inoffensive dialogue and a schmaltzy conclusion to each episode.

Only one of those was correct.

A first-time viewer of Modern Family would be right in thinking the show was indeed all of the above. It has a gloss to it, a certain polish that only seems to accompany big-budget Primetime Network programmes, and when you realise this particular production was owned by 20th Century Fox, you immediately understand why it looks the way it does.

But arguably Modern Family's greatest asset is its ability to disguise itself as a by the numbers entry, whereas underneath the surface lies a fantastic ensemble cast, a group of characters that bounce off one another with veritable ease, and in amongst that family of comic actors lives arguably the best comedy character on television.

Phil Dunphy, played by Ty Burrell (of Dawn of the Dead remake fame), is a masterfully idiotic character who manages to encompass a level of humiliation and clown-like aloofness which places him on-par with the likes of Homer Simpson. Whilst many saw Hal from Malcolm in the Middle (brought to life by Bryan Cranston) as the real-life Homer, Phil manages to seemingly best him in every department, other than the former being more willing to go all out for physical gags.

Whilst the rest of the characters work so well with each other, and quite literally create this sense of hysteria, calamity and silliness that only a fictional family could, Phil stands tall. His look to camera as he accidentally angers his wife (Julie Bown, of 'Ed' fame), his constantly tripping up the stairs, never seemingly learn from his previous mistakes, his awkward yet wholesome relationship with his unnervingly frisky father. It's in his delivery that Ty Burrell really comes into his own as Mr Dunphy. His sheepish and almost childlike enthusiasm when boasting to the camera about his worklife, his kids and wife all demonstrate his ability, but arguably his greatest moment was when he received an iPad on his Birthday. Words can't do justice to that particular episode (Game Changer, season 1 episode 19), so I'll let you see for yourself.

Enjoy.

Boardwalk Empire

Seeing as Boardwalk Empire has just finished its fourth season, now seems like a good time to actually discuss it. I don't think I've mentioned it or covered it on here before.

Basically, the HBO show covers the start of Prohibition, and the fallout. It stars Steve Buscemi as the lead character, Nucky Thompson, though others such as Stephen Graham (of This is England fame) also appear, Graham playing the infamous Al Capone.

There are various film stars in the show - not necessarily A list, but it's a start - and this is a recurring theme as Hollywood actors make the transition from the big screen to the silver screen, realising the rising interest in basic and premium cable shows from the US, as well as a select few Primetime UK shows.

What needs to be said of Boardwalk Empire, if you've endured the first couple of slow-burning seasons, is that the character development has now reached a point where the show genuinely has ten or so characters, upon which any number of storylines can be forged. In terms of US TV dramas, its strength in depth (to use a terrible football cliché) is unmatched.

The cinematography is up there with the likes of Breaking Bad - you'd hope so, given the supposed budget - and its all-round narrative, albeit sometimes directionless, constantly creates scenes of genuine intrigue, tension and serious drama.

Without giving too much away, the season four finale had two notable story arcs, both involving characters the audience had grown to love and invest their time in. Those two story arcs ended in opposing fashion, and has had many Internet writers feeling somewhat betrayed by the show's creators for forcing such a heartbreaking ending on its fans.

But sometimes that's what quality drama is about. In order to truly feel a part of a show such as Boardwalk Empire, you have to take the good with the bad. You have to invest yourself, your emotions, and your time. And although the viewing figures don't match up - The Walking Dead attracts roughly eight times as many viewers - it's a show which has been consistently well-written from day one, has created memorable and universally loved characters, and will hopefully be remembered, long after it ends.

2013: Films of the Year so far

Although I haven't done any updates since the Ryan Davis entry, I was reminded tonight that I've seen some films worth watching (and recommending) this year, from the Oscars season in January, up til October (thus far).

The following is a list of films from 2013 that I feel are worth watching, though I believe Rundskopp may be a 2012 release, though that doesn't mean it's not worth watching by any means:

Rundskopp
In the House
Intouchable
The Sessions
The Way Way Back
The Conjuring
Disconnect
Mud
What Maisie Knew

Intouchable is actually a 2011 film that had a 2012 release on DVD, but it's arguably the best (foreign, at least) film I've seen of recent times, so it's going on the list too.

Also worth mentioning, although I may have written about them on here before, are Teddy Bear and Michael, recent films but I'm unsure of their original release dates.

Ryan Davis 1979 - 2013

I don't do obituaries or memorials, but last week Ryan Davis, co-founder of Giantbomb and former Gamespot writer, passed away having only married his then-fiancé Anna mere days earlier.

Ryan Davis was not just a games reviewer (in fact towards the end of his life, Ryan veered away from actually writing about games and instead set about doing his best to organise the day in day out activities on Giantbomb.com, a site which he and Jeff Gerstmann had lovingly created together in a bid to show the Internet how games journalism should be done.

Why this is such a big deal for me is because I followed the Giantbomb crew in some way shape or form on a daily basis. Be it through their tweets, their content on Giantbomb or various other random yet entertaining ways, I basically followed (and still follow) their everyday activities, as well as their 'professional' movements on a daily basis. Giantbomb has basically become a facet of my life. I hear about various American traditions and events through their weekly podcasts, and heard what the individual members of their team got up to each weekend. As any Giantbomb member will attest, once you'd heard a few of their Bombcasts, you felt like a part of a small but faithful community. Which is why losing Ryan, who was essentially the Father of the group, is so tough.

Ryan would host their videos at events such as e3 and PAX, he'd head up their Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday shows, he'd host the Bombcast, he'd host a lot of the hilarious quicklooks, and he was basically the Hostess with the Mostess. In short, Ryan made Giantbomb what it was, and his chemistry with the rest of the group (especially Jeff) was magical. As someone on the forums recently posted, you'd tune in to hear them talk about toasters if they were doing such a thing. They made anything and everything interesting, and so losing the cog of the process will change everything.

So yeah, it's going to be different.

RIP Ryan Davis.

Bioshock Infinite Review

Bioshock Infinite

I've been finding it very difficult to review this game, for a number of reasons.

Not only is Bioshock (the original game) one of my favourite games of all time, and arguably one of the best action games ever, it provided core gamers with a gameworld which may never be bested. Rapture was a world in which people chose to lead a different life in the hope that they could somehow fulfill their dreams and their ambitions. It was a society in which its leader, Andrew Ryan, wanted to bring a new form of socialism to his people, in a world which was modelled upon the mythical Greek world of Atlantis, a city underwater.

Whenever I'm asked to explain just what was so special about Rapture, I basically freeze up. Simply because it's so difficult to pinpoint any one reason as to why it's so damn special. Its audio logs gave the player a sense of what had been. A sense of a world that had tried its best to create perfect reality, but had in fact created a highly flawed perception of what they thought an ideal society should be like. The eeriness of the empty leaky corridors, the groan of a nearby Big Daddy. The very concept of Splicers - citizens of Rapture, who felt the need to abuse themselves and enchance their genetics in order to live a life that would otherwise be impossible - was just creepy.

Anyway, this review is not about Bioshock, nor indeed its much maligned sequel, oddly enough called Bioshock 2. A game which almost perfected the basic controls of the first, had a vastly improved ending, and provided a further emotional tweak to its main narrative. Many hated it for being more of what we'd already seen, though those same people praised the DLC content. For me, it was simply more gametime in the greatest gameworld I had ever experienced.

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For those of you who don't know what Bioshock Infinite is about, you'll have to look it up on Wikipedia, as I'm utterly useless at explaining something as complex and convoluted as the backstory to Columbia.

All I will say is that it is a city that lives in the clouds. Literally. And it's set in 1912. And no, there is no reference to Titanic (as far as I noticed).

The gameplay mechanics of Infinite have changed since the original Bioshock games. Weapons are still there, and it seems there are more of them. However, plasmids have gone, instead replaced by Vigors. Same sort of thing, basically. Arguably the most annoying omission is Incinerate, which was massively useful, but Infinite provides many interesting combinations of the new Vigors, and at times they can be fun to use, however I essentially went through the game using three at most. Maybe I just didn't do it properly, but I didn't really feel the need to use more.

Without rambling on about the game's narrative, and indeed spoiling anything, all I wanted to say about Bioshock Infinite was how lazy it felt at times, from a design perspective. Enemy fights in the latter stages of the game seemed like an onslaught of a mishmash of the game's enemy types, and one particular fight at the end was quite literally that. Despite the game's aesthetic - which at times varied from lush oranges and light browns, greens, blues and whites, to grim dark interiors - the way in which the enemies were placed in front of you felt like the developers had run out of ideas. The Handyman in particular was one enemy who could chase you forever, and deal almost fatal damage, and could only be defeated if you aimed at his heart, a smallish area on his frame. Although the area wasn't small, to be able to get into position in order to avoid any damage from him, and to be able to actually aim at that area, you had to expose yourself to a huge amount of damage. Although the relief of finally beating him - and he pops up about three times in the entire game - there was absolutely no joy or excitement in having to defend yourself against him.

The most important part of any Bioshock game is, arguably, its ending. And Infinite really does blow your mind, when you finally sit down for the final few cutscenes. Without spoiling anything, it's safe to say that long-time Bioshock fans will have had a "Holy shit" moment minutes from the end, and beyond that, I'm nowhere near qualified to even attempt explaining what the ending tells us. 

Having scanned the web for summaries and supposed theories, it still remains an intricate and complex web of connections, scientific theories, and mechanics which I simply cannot get my head around. Which leads me to congratulate Ken Levine for creating a game which on the surface seemed like a fairly straightforward Bioshock game, albeit set in the clouds, but is in fact a vast set of layers that even the Internet still hasn't quite unmasked as of yet.

In short, Bioshock Infinite is certainly worth buying, and for those seeking an intelligent and well-written game in among a sea of generic FPSs, sports titles and "MINI GAMES" should look no further.

8/10

It's been a while..oh, and Weeds!

Crikey. Seems it's been at least two months since my last post.

In that time, I've seen several films (both old and new), finished a TV series here and there, and Valentine's Day happened. That's about it.

The most significant of those TV series was Weeds, which ended after eight seasons. What started off as a well-written and genuinely entertaining comedy-drama, had turned into a botox-fronted melodrama, with the odd moments of comedy. The show's cast was admittedly fantastic, and most of the characters bounced off each other extremely well, however Mary Louise Parker is perhaps one of the most irritating faces in television, so much so that her doing nudity in the series didn't help her cause. Her malnourished features, her nose and her mouth just irrationally annoyed me, and did so when she was in the West Wing too.

However, that's not the point. Weeds ended tamely. Arguably, it's the most indifferent an ending to any TV series I've seen, and although it felt like a cop out, in that nothing really came to a head, perhaps that was for the best.

The rivalries within the show itself never really came to anything, the big stand-off which had been hinted at for a few seasons never actually happened, and in what felt like more of a cast send-off party, the last half an hour of the show felt like a Memoriam rather than a bid to actually tell a story or provide any real action or conclusion.

It's almost impossible to even spoil the ending, other than to tell you that nothing really happens. The Botwin family simply carry on, living out their separate lives, content with what they have, and with how they view their future. In a sense, it's a more heartening version of The Shield's ending, in that life simply carries on, and although that gives some viewers hope, and a sense of reassurance that life simply can continue without that lingering threat of death or danger, I imagine some longtime viewers of Weeds, like myself, would have wanted a more finite ending to the show. Nancy could have died for all I care, that's how much her character's selfishness annoyed me. Almost everything around her was effectively her puppet, and although that led to the storylines' shelf lives being extended beyond the first five seasons or so, her character is simply one of the most annoying in television because of that.

Before I ramble for hours, I guess it's best to summarise. Though I find it weird that Weeds and Breaking Bad both follow a similar trajectory, both follow families through drug dealership, getting caught on the wrong end of the law throughout. Heck, Breaking Bad even has fewer main characters. However, Breaking Bad is now arguably one of the biggest shows in America, whereas Weed faded away. Its best seasons were its opening few, whereas Breading Bad has continued to excel.

Funny how things turn out.

For a Good Time Call

I'll put my hands up and admit that I didn't have a clue what this film was about. Starring Ari Graynor (known for appearing in various romcoms...), Justin Long and Seth Rogen, For A Good Time Call provides the audience with a fairly generic setup. A tenant with no money must find a roommate in order to cover her rent, and that very roommate has just been kicked out of her partner by her now-ex boyfriend. Cue various disagreements, bitchiness and polarising lifestyles, until the two discover that they would well as a partnership in maintaining a sex phone line.

For as arduous and long-winded as I've made the premise sound, it's actually very straightforward and Lauren Miller plays off Graynor well throughout, with its various twists, love interests and job offers working out as you'd expect. The two big twists - namely that Katie is a virgin, and that Lauren takes the job she promised she wouldn't - are overlooked because of the nature of their mutual love, in fairly predictable rom-com style, and so the film loses a lot of depth in the way those moments pan out. In fact, one point in the film points to a possible breakdown in the whole business idea, but this is immediately glossed over and doesn't actually seem to have an impact. Which is weird. And pointless.

Both women are attractive in their own way, and they suit their roles extremely well, but the film doesn't really try to do anything other than reinforce the idea that true love between friends trumps - or indeed supports - life's big dramas. Justin Long plays the gay best friend, a role he is worryingly convincing in playing, and Seth Rogen plays arguably his smallest role to date, and is in my opinion appallingly underused.

For A Good Time Call doesn't excel at anything, and doesn't really challenge pre-existing stereotypes. The subject matter means it's not exactly a film you'd want to watch with your family, owing to its fairly graphic - if only verbally - nature, so in a sense it's not a very accessible film. However, it's a fun way to waste 90 minutes and it's always interesting whenever Justin Long (or Seth Rogen) is involved.

7/10

Amour

I don't think I need to explain what this one is about, and although the performances are gripping, and often hard to watch, Haneke's style of filmmaking is a little too passive and slow for me to properly enjoy. I understand the need for it in this instance, but that doesn't make it any more useful (for me).

The structure of the film left me a bit disorientated, and I'm annoyed that this was supposedly chosen ahead of Intouchables, but the lead's Oscar nomination is probably deserved just for its sheer realism. Although the lead in The Sessions deserves a nod as well, if only for the similar style of role.

8/10

Pitch Perfect

Thought it'd be a terrible Bridesmaids-esque clusterfuck, turns out it's very enjoyable. Duno if it was a fault at the cinema I watched it at, but the audio seemed slightly out of sync. Maybe it was just bad editing for the blatantly dubbed singing scenes?

Anna Kendrick's face seems to become more ratty and pointy with every new film she's in, but the ginger was

7/10

For reference, the ginger:

 

Nobody Walks

A Silver Lake family's relaxed dynamic is tested after they take in a young artist so she can complete her art film.

Stars John Krasinski and Olivia Thirlby.

Really well shot, really well paced and the dialogue comes across as being natural. The fallout isn't as dramatic as you'd expect, but who knows if that's realistic or not? Just lacks a proper ending, much like most Indie films. It'd be a better film if Thirlby didn't have a punchable face and shitty hair, her character's far less likeable with Thirlby in the role. Maybe that was intentional.

7.5/10

Hello I Must Be Going

Melanie Lynskey stars as a depressed divorcee living back at home, seeking some form of escape, inspiration or even someone to distract her from her life.

Whilst I've seen Lynskey pop up in a lot of things (Perks of Being a Wallflower being the most recent aside from this), she doesn't seem to stray too far from the sort of character she played in Two and a Half Men. However, she gives probably her best performance here. She's intense and just does a great job, though it doesn't help that Christoper Abbott (who plays her lover) has the charisma and presence of a moldy carrot. His face is irritating, his acting more so.

A good film with a very shitty feeling about it, but it's yet again another 'Indie' film which chooses not to really make a concrete point or finalise all story strands, instead allowing the audience to assume certain things.

7/10

Celeste and Jesse Forever

Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation) and Andy Samberg star as a divorcing couple who question whether they can remain best friends even if they both want different things from their love life.

I can't stand Samberg so the fact that I was able to watch this was saying something, then again I think Jones is lovely and interesting to watch, even if her character is whiny and fairly irritating at times.

It's very much the style of films I've come to prefer nowadays. Very low-key location shooting, very generic storyline but with good dialogue and sometimes-unpredictable endings.

It's a film that doesn't really try to differ from the norm but it features Chris Messina who's been getting some good roles of late and I've become a fan of, Ari Gaynor, who's not as annoying as she can be, and Elijah Wood, being 'normal', all of whom are worth watching in their own way.

7/10

The Sessions

John Hawkes stars as Mark O'Brien (based on real life), a disabled man who seeks out the help of a sex surrogate in order to lose his virginity before his impending death. Helen Hunt plays the surrogate, and William H. Macy also appears.

It's a Fox Searchlight film so naturally it has an Indie vibe to it, and as such I really enjoyed the pacing and the general feel of the film. O'Brien's character delivers some Allen-esque quips about life, sex and religion and the humour is great throughout, always taking the more uplifting attitude rather than sombre or depressing.

I knew I'd enjoy this film more than the others I'd seen today, and of late, simply because I knew it wouldn't be a 'busy' film, and I was right. Downright enjoyable, really.

And you get to see Helen Hunt's minge and tits

8/10

Killing Them Softly

Feels like a very lightweight Goodfellas in tone, but also has a back-alley Sopranos feel to it, and not just because Gandolfini is in it. Speaking of which, his brief scene(s) are the best part of the film, which is about as interesting the dialogue gets. The film itself isn't particularly entertaining or interesting itself, and I'm sure there's some sort of political message underneath it all but I don't care enough to find out what it is.

Richard Jenkins feels wasted here, and I don't think I've ever seen Brad Pitt play someone who's not a total dick.

5/10

Seven Psychopaths

A waste of a fairly talented cast.

Nice tits though.

4/10

Yeah, that's all I wrote. Not really worth writing any more about this one.

The Impossible

 

Well shot, but a load of sentimental shit. Naomi Watts moans and screams, and looks longingly at the screen for close to two hours, whilst Ewan McGregor actually acts. The children put on a great acting display, just a shame Watts had to be involved. Tragic set of events, but the very Middle Class and vanilla nature of the people involved dragged it down somewhat. You almost feel less sympathy, but as you see later on in the film, there's almost an underlying selfish tone. Some horrifically inappropriate uses of music too.

If you like close-ups of Naomi Watts, this film is perfect for you.

5/10

As a side note, it should be made clear that were it not for the sentimental nature of the film, and the almost generic nature of the family's journey in the film, it would probably be scored higher. McGregor delivers only a few scenes of note, but one in particular is arguably the best overall performance in the entire film. Sadly, I view McGregor as a largely 'take it or leave it' actor as a whole.

If it weren't Naomi Watts in the lead female role (for which she has been nominated, somehow...) I would probably have enjoyed the film more. I can't recall any actresses I would have cast ahead of her, because there aren't many likeable 35 year old females capable of lighting up this role, but I feel she is totally wrong for this film. Hollywood's critics seem to disagree.

So, Django Unchained...

Apparently I didn't actually review this one, though I made my thoughts clear on a certain forum.

Put it this way. Tarantino has a style, which he just fucking loves to employ in all of his films, but I believe I may have outgrown his style, if that's even possible. Django feels like an incoherent mish-mash of Tarantino's brain. It's as if his inner ghetto soul has leaked out at intervals, and he couldn't help but include it in a film about slavery in the 1860s.

I don't get it. I don't understand why someone would randomly include hip hop music during slow-mo scenes.

Also, the film is far too long, and whilst the action scenes are typically Tarantino-esque, he maybe goes a bit OTT on the way the characters' bodies react when shot, and the amount of blood they let out.

Anyway, not a fan.

I'd suggest a 6/10, but that may be generous.

Speaking of films I forgot...

Another perusal of my Internet history presents me with my reviews for The Possession, and Grabbers.

I won't bother with a picture for The Possession but I will with Grabbers, because of the lovely Ruth Bradley.

The Possession

Clichéd mess of a film. Its scares are hard to take seriously, and the exorcism scenes are just laughable, both in terms of tone, acting and special effects.

Gets a better score than House at The End of the Street, simply because I can imagine people actually being scared by it.

3/10

Grabbers
Irish comedy-horror, starring Jeff from Coupling and the very cute Ruth Bradley, as they stave off a sea mutant.

Didn't expect this to be a comedy, but the sense of humour is very good, especially with all the Irish quips and remarks.

The special effects aren't great but it's worth watching. For some reason, Russell Tovey plays a complete mong.

6/10

 

Have a picture of Ruth Bradley, to give you an idea of what you're missing by not watching Grabbers.

 

 

House at The End of The Street

                                             




                                House at the End of the Street


Somewhat ironically, I was browsing through my internet history to find the reviews I'd written lately (they've all been diluted for use on a forum) and found a film I'd completely forgotten I'd watched, starring now-Oscar nominated Jennfier Lawrence. Because of its forgettable nature, I'm not going to bother putting a picture to go with it. That's how I roll.


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Genuinely one of the worst attempts at a horror film I've ever seen. There is no horror in it. There's suspense, and thriller elements, but no actual horror. In fact, the only parts which could be misconstrued as horror (the disturbed young girl) are ruined because of the haphazard nature of the girl's acting. She genuinely looks like she doesn't know what she's doing, and as if she's looking at the production crew for the most part. It's laughable.

The story is predictable, Elizabeth Shue does her best 'pause, and look thoughtful/horrified' schtick. Jennifer Lawrence's sweaty boobs are the only redeeming feature here, and as such, the film receives the comedy boob score.

2/10

As an aside, the ending features one of the worst 'OH WAIT WE WERE MEANT TO ADD THIS STORY TWIST BEFORE OH SHIT SORRY' I've ever seen. 

Zero Dark Thirty

Following on from the theme of films with bad halves, Zero Dark Thirty follows suit, but thankfully the second body of the film redeems itself. Some surprising appearances from some lesser-known TV actors, and I got hints of The West Wing (namely one incident in the first half of the film) and Occupation (BBC series), but the latter was naturally going to come to mind, given the nature of the film.

I'm not as sold on the film as the other reviews I've seen. I didn't like The Hurt Locker, and whilst I think this is a much better film, and didn't have the Hollywood polish that can be so unnecessary and sometimes ruins some 'war' films, it lacked a certain something.

Naturally, the film had to have a really thoughtful ending too. Again, that's Hollywood for you.

As an aside, I'm not sure if James Gandolfini actually finds it hard to breathe in everyday life, but my God it sounds like it.

7/10

Skyfall

Skyfall

First things first, I'm not a Bond fan, and I find it very hard to rate the films on the whole, as they seem to be a mish-mash of cheese, shitty one-liners, OTT action scenes and as many spy clichés as the director can fit under his belt, and yet people lap it up and consider a few of them to be classics.

However, Bardem is an interesting Bond villain, in a very camp and maniacal fashion. Certainly darker than many of the villains I can remember, and moving away from the stereotypes from the previous films in the series.

However, I have to say the first half of the film is one of the most boring I've seen of the Bond films I've watched. The second half shook things up and was far more enjoyable, even if the narrative is predictable. Wasn't too keen on the final section of the Underground chapter. Very unsavoury, all things considered. Some decent scenes leading up to that, mind you.

As someone who's never really been a fan, I thought it was okay. Nothing stuck out as being exceptional, and some of the utterly nonsensical elements jumped out as a reminder of how ludicrous the whole franchise is. It's too long IMO, but that shouldn't necessarily detract.

7/10

New Year, new reviews...

Seems it's been just over a month since my last review, which was my favourite film Intouchables, a film for which I am yet to see a bad review. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places, but I couldn't care less.

GO SEE THAT FILM. Incidentally, it's out on DVD and Blu Ray in the UK next month. So yeah, check it out!

Since Oscars season is upon us, and naturally that means all the nominees are now available via illegal means, I was able to watch a few of the 2012 nominees, and some films that weren't. Sadly, some of the films I watched that deserved Oscar nods will never be known outside of the US or aren't even known within the US to any real degree. And of the nominees I watched, the nominations themselves seem somewhat undeserved. Such is Hollywood...

I figured I'd just post the reviews on the next post, because this one just looks like a mess now...