Film 172/365, Day 177/365 – xXx

Explosive, extreme and exhilarating.  xXx is an extreme sports, heavy metal version of James Bond.  It is packed full of non-stop action, incredible stunts and yet more action.  I love it and as I am going to Prague tomorrow I thought I would check out the scenery.  ExXxcellent!

Synopsis:  Xander Cage is an extreme sports enthusiast and ends up in trouble after he pulls a stunt which involved stealing a senators car.  Rather than face prison he agrees to work for the NSA.  To regain his freedom he must infiltrate the Anarchy 99 organisation in Prague to find out what they’re up to.

Film 171/365, Day 176/365 – The Tourist

A bit predictable but oddly compelling.  Everyone looks good, which isn’t difficult when Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp are your stars, the story is quite good but like I said predictable but for what ever reason you can’t help but wait for it to all play out.  Good fun but that’s about it.

Synopsis:  Frank, a maths teacher from Wisconsin, is on his way to Venice when a mysterious woman sits opposite him and before he knows what's happening he is staying in her hotel, being chased by Russian gangsters and Interpol who all believe he is someone else.  Will Frank be able to convince everyone who he is?

Film 170/365, Day 176/365 – Barbarella

Brilliantly bonkers!  It’s what life would be like had they discovered space travel during the 1960’s and brought peace and love to the universe.  Love the fur lined interior of Barbarella’s space ship and the many fantastic outfit changes she manages throughout.  And as much as I love the original I can’t help but think a remake would be incredible.  Awesome!

Synopsis:  Barbarella is sent to a savage world to find and save the Earth scientist Durand-Durand.  She knew nothing of the world she was going to discover but the real discovery was what she learnt about herself.

Film 169/365, Day 174/365 – Unbreakable

Fantastic.  That is the only word necessary for this film and it doesn’t matter how many times I see it, it still has the same affect on me.  A stunning follow up to The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan, who sadly, has not been able to keep up these exceptionally high standards with his more recent films.  But this is absolutely brilliant.

Synopsis:  A man is the only survivor of a train wreck that killed over one hundred people, what’s more is that he hasn’t got a single scratch on him.  Soon he is contacted by a man who suffers from brittle bone who believes the man may be invincible.

Film 168/365, Day 173/365 – The Way of the Dragon

Mostly boring with the occasional fight to keep you watching.  The fights are very good, especially when Bruce is fighting the large group of thugs.  There is however a lot of pretty much nothing happening between these fight scenes and I found myself wishing the film would hurry up and get on with it more than once.  It’s no Kung Fu Panda, sorry Bruce!

Synopsis:  Tang Lung arrives in Rome at the request of his cousins to help them with a problem with a local bunch of thugs.  The thugs are working for a crime boss who wants to buy Tang’s cousins restaurant and will do anything to get it.  He didn’t count on Tang being a Kung Fu master and making things difficult for him.

Film 167/365, Day 172/365 – Se7en

Dark, gritty, intense.  These are just some of the words you could use to describe Se7en.  It is also a fantastic film with some great acting and a story that will keep you gripped right up until the end, and probably another couple of hours after that.  Still one of the best crime thrillers ever made.  Brilliant!

Synopsis:  Two detectives, one on his last job, one of his first, are trying to piece together a series of bizarre murders which appear to have a biblical reference to the seven deadly sins.  Will they be able to catch the murderer before he completes all seven murders?

Film 166/365, Day 171/365 – Kung Fu Panda

There is no charge for Awesomeness.  Except if you buy Kung Fu Panda, which is something I would very much recommend.  It is excellent packed full of fantastic lines and hilarious Kung Fu action.  Kung Fu Panda is a thoroughly enjoyable film and one that could be watched again and again.  Awesome!

Synopsis:  Po dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master, the only problem is he has had no training, his father wants him to take up the family noodle business and he’s a panda!  One day however after a serious of accidents he is chosen to become the Dragon Warrior.  Will he complete the training or will it be too much for him?

Film 165/365, Day 169/365 – Deep Blue Sea

Still one of the best monster movies.  Obviously there are elements that are beyond stupid but that’s to be expected.  The things that makes this such a good monster movie is that the characters are all good, there is a fantastic atmosphere and it’s not just the danger from the sharks but the sinking underwater station as well.  Excellent fun.

Synopsis:  A group of scientists think they have finally found a cure for Alzheimer's by using sharks brain matter.  The only thing is they need to genetically alter the sharks to have large brains so that they could harvest enough.  Who would think that giving one of the most efficient killing machines on the planet a larger brain would be a problem?

Film 164/365, Day 169/365 – The Box

Thriller and haunting and almost four stars, if only the ending was better.  There were moments that were exceptional but I just still can’t get over the ending, and Cameron Diaz’s accent, which may well have been good but just sounded ridiculous.  Good, but could have been better.

Synopsis:  A couple are woken early in the morning to discover a box on their doorstep.  When they open the box there is a wooden device with a button locked under a glass dome.  They are told that if they press the button they will receive one million dollars but someone they don’t know will die.

Film 163/365, Day 168/365 – This is Spinal Tap

Legendary.  At times This is Spinal Tap can be a little hard going as the documentary style  can tend to drag on for a little bit.  But the characters are brilliant and there are plenty of hilarious scenes throughout.  Highlights for me have to be Stone Henge, the amplifier that goes up to eleven and when they get lost in the cellar of a venue.  So many pop culture references come from this film, brilliant.

Synopsis:  This Rockumentary follows British rock band Spinal Tap as they complete their second tour of the United States of America.  Playing to some sellout arenas of about one hundred people and problems with their latest album artwork are starting to really put a strain on the band.

Film 162/365, Day 168/365 – Stiletto

Yawn!  Stiletto was boring and completely pointless.  It tried to follow too many characters, all of whom were awful.  Rather than pick a central character and follow them the lack of action just seems to flip between the endless list of crap characters.  Pointless crap!

Synopsis:  When a meeting between a Cuba gangster and a Greek gangster is interupted by a female assassin it starts a war between the two rival gangs.  Both are after the girl, but what is she after?

Film 161/365, Day 168/365 – Jennifer’s Body

Far exceeded my expectations.  OK, it’s not the best but it does have quite a good ending, plus Megan Fox… schaa-wing!  There are some fairly stupid moments scattered throughout but on the whole it is fairly enjoyable.  Expect lots of stupid teenagers and a demonic flesh-eating Megan Fox.

Synopsis:  Jennifer, the head cheerleader, and Needy, class bookworm, are best friends and have been ever since they started school.  One night when a band comes to town bad things start to happen and Jennifer seems to be at the heart of it all.  What have the cult worshipping heavy metal band done to Jennifer?

Film 160/365, Day 167/365 – The Horde

Simple story, well executed.  It’s the best way to make a zombie film, in my opinion, don’t try to tell us how it’s happened or make lots of silly attempts to cure it.  It should just be a group of people, who usually don’t get along, trying to get out alive.  Simple but very effective.

Synopsis:  A group of cops go into a derelict tower block to avenge a fallen colleague.  Whilst there things don’t quite as planned and the criminals and cops must now work together if they are going to survive the endless horde of zombies.

Film 159/365, Day 167/365 – TRON: Legacy

Visually stunning, a soundtrack exclusively by Daft Punk and yet it wasn’t as good as I had hoped.  The one main thing that lets TRON: Legacy down is the story line, it just didn’t seem to have any oomph and if I’m being picky the young digital version of Jeff Bridges was a bit rubbish.  Good film but the story let it down.

Synopsis:  One day a mysterious message is sent by Kevin Flynn who has been missing for the past twenty years.  His son, Sam,  follows the message and ends up in being transported into a digital world and finds himself embroiled in a struggle that has last more than a thousand cycles!

Film 158/365, Day 166/365 – V for Vendetta

A fantastically dark and intense film and a very real warning about voter apathy, if you don’t vote someone like this could very well sneak into a position of power.  There are some excellent action scenes throughout, some incredibly unbelievable but all the better for it.  The story itself is excellent and very well directed and acted.  Also Patrick from Coupling can be found here!

Synopsis:  Great Britain is now ruled by a fascist totalitarian government, everyone must follow the rules or face extermination.  One freedom fighter who wears a Guy Fawkes mask and is known only as V.  Using terrorist tactics against the government he seeks to inspire the repressed inhabitants to rise up against the government.

Film 157/365, Day 165/365 – Forest Gump

One of the all time greatest films ever, in my opinion.  Forest Gump has everything, a fantastically magical and heartwarming story, an unbelievable soundtrack and incredible acting.  I have always loved Forest Gump and always will, it don’t think it will ever get old.  If you haven't seen it then you are truly missing out, go watch it.  Legend!

Synopsis:  Forest Gump goes from nobody to All American football star to Vietnam war hero and so on.  Throughout his life he meets an incredible array of inspirational and influential people all whilst trying to win back his true love, Jenny.

Film 156/365, Day 164/365 – AVP: Alien vs. Predator

A good action film, but it could have been so much more!  If they were going to join these two iconic franchises they should have taken the best bits from each, the scale and numbers of Aliens along with the firepower and viciousness of Predator.  Unfortunately we’ve ended up with something somewhere in the middle.  If only they had got this right, it would have been incredible.

Synopsis:  A team is dispatched to investigate a series of unusual events that has resulted in a perfect tunnel cut deep into the ice of Antarctica.  When they get to the bottom of the hole they discover an ancient temple that appears to predate all known structures.  But who could have put them there and who made the hole?

Film 155/365, Day 163/365 – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Excellent Swedish crime thriller.  One of the things I liked with the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is that you generally learn things as the characters do which I think makes it more enjoyable.  The worrying thing however is that it looks like there isn’t much to do in Sweden except rape and murder but then the same could be said for any crime drama location (except here everyone seems to be doing it)!!!  Good film, it will be interesting to see how the Hollywood version compares.

Synopsis:  Mikael Blomkvist has been hired by the former head of the Vanger Corporation to find out who killed his niece forty years ago.  The Vanger Corporation is a family run business where nobody really likes each other so they could all be suspects.  With Mikael struggling to discover any new information he hires Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker, to help in his investigation.

Film 154/365, Day 163/365 – Green Lantern: First Flight

Good animation and a thoroughly enjoyable story.  This animated film gives you more than enough to get you interested in the Green Lantern, a character that I haven’t had too much experience with.  Now I wouldn’t hestitate to watch more Green Lantern based material.

Synopsis:  When a dying Green Lantern, the sworn protectors of the universe, lands on Earth his ring selects Hal Jordan to carry on in his place.  Hal must first be assessed by the Guardians, the immortals behind the Green Lanterns, and they don’t like humans very much.  Will Hal be able to convince them otherwise?

Film 153/365, Day 162/365 – Foxy Brown

Foxy Brown is sexy, voluptuous and deadly.  This is the film that launched Pam Grier’s career and although I don’t think it is as good as The Big Bird Cage or Black Mama, White Mama it is still quite captivating.  If nothing else you will learn that you don’t mess with Foxy Brown.

Synopsis:  Foxy Brown just saw her boyfriend killed.  Now she’s going to go undercover and make sure the criminals responsible get what’s coming to them.  And Foxy is going to make sure the punishment fits the crime!

Film 152/365, Day 162/365 – The Expendables

Lots and lots of action.  Other than that however there isn’t too much to The Expendables and unfortunately that is why it won’t be remembered as one of the great action films.  The script was pretty awful and acting just as bad; the action was good but not brilliant.  I expected more if I’m honest.

Synopsis:  They are an expert military team available to hire.  They have no government affiliation.  They answer to nobody.  Ultimately however they are expendable.  Now they have been hired by the CIA to remove a former operative who has taken over an island and is running it as a base for his drugs operation.

Film 151/365, Day 161/365 – eXistenZ

Exceptionally clever and more than a little weird.  There are some actual moments of genius within eXistenZ if you manage to spot them, some very clever self referential points.  There is quite obviously a twist and you’ll be pretty disappointed if you don’t get it.  You do start to wonder how intentional some of the stuff is, but then that’s Cronenberg for you.  Far better than Inception.

Synopsis:  When the leading games designer narrowly survives an attempted murder she goes on the run with her bodyguard.  The games console was damaged in the attack and the only way to see if the game is intact is to play it.

Film 150/365, Day 160/365 – The Disappearance of Alice Creed

Gripping and utterly enthralling.  The Disappearance of Alice Creed is an excellently shot film, the atmosphere is brilliantly portrayed and the acting as good as it gets really.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and had basically not heard of it until LoveFilm recommended it, so, thanks LoveFilm good work.  Watch it if you enjoy a good Brit thriller.

Synopsis:  Two men appear to have planned out the perfect kidnapping.  All of the details have been meticulously planned right down to the girl.  But then nothing really ever goes to plan… does it?

Film 149/365, Day 159/365 – Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny

Long live the D!  Ok, so it's not the best film in the world, it has a few funny moments.  But where it truly excels in with it's music.  I love Master Exploder and The Showdown plus there are some great lines scattered throughout.  They could have tried a little harder with the story but I'll let them off because... THEY ROCK!

Synopsis:  When two aspiring rockers meet in Hollywood they are destined to become the greatest rock band the world has ever seen, or so they think anyway.  They need to come up with a master hit in order to pay their rent so go in search of the Pick of Destiny, a pick crafted from the devil's tooth that was behind ever rock legend.

Film 148/365, Day 158/365 – The Chronicles of Riddick

Excellent science fiction, non-stop action and Riddick.  And let’s face it, it is all about Riddick, the story could be as lame as you like and Riddick would carry it because he is such an excellent character, he kills a guy with a tea cup!  Thankfully however the story is quite good.  I can’t wait for the next Riddick film to be made as rumours seem to have been flying around recently.  Riddick kick’s ass!

Synopsis:  An old friend from the first film leaves a trail for Riddick to follow and when Riddick arrives he finds himself in the middle of an invasion by a crusading force that is travelling across the universe.  Needless to say Riddick gets himself noticed and has the crusaders chasing him along with some mercenaries looking to make some money.

Film 147/365, Day 158/365 – Orange County

Charming comedy and story of a guy finding his way only to discover he was never lost.  I’ll be the first to say that Orange County might not be for everyone.  Shaun’s dysfunctional family make for some very uncomfortable moments, but it is his stoner brother, played by Jack Black, that really steals the show.  A comedy with a good story at it’s heart.

Synopsis:  Shaun Brumder is a high achieving student and ever since he found a book half buried in the sand he has wanted to be an author.  So much so that he is willing to leave California behind in order to study under the author of the book that changed his life at Stanford.  Unfortunately the guidance counselor sends off the wrong transcript and he doesn’t get it.  But he’s not going to give up that easily.

Film 146/365, Day 156/365 – Zoolander

Endless sarcastic gold.  Zoolander is stupid, really, really ridiculously stupid but he means well which is probably why he is so funny.  Will Ferrell is fantastic as evil fashion designer Mugatu.  So many brilliant moments, I must however admit that I didn’t instantly love it, but after a couple of viewings you see so much more each time.  Genius comedy.

Synopsis:  Derek Zoolander is really, really, ridiculously good looking, but is that enough?  He has just lost out to his younger rival in the top model awards.  Desperate to get himself back on top he agrees to be the face of Derelicte, unaware that he is actually being brainwashed to kill the Malaysian president.  Will he realise in time to stop himself?

Film 145/365, Day 156/365 – Role Models

Fantastically brilliant comedy with more stand alone moments than I’ve seen in one film before.  On top of that it is a real feel good film with an excellent final scene.  There are too many hilarious characters to name them all.  The relationship between Danny and Wheeler and Jane Lynch’s character is exceptional and Christoper Mintz-Plasse is unbelievable.  Great film packed full of non stop laughs.

Synopsis:  Danny and Wheeler work for an energy drink company and go school to school giving presentations on their energy drinks.  When Danny is dumped by his girlfriend, just as tries to propose to her, they go on rampage and now face either jail or to become mentors for children.  Not sure who's being punished here!

Film 144/365, Day 154/365 – Step Brothers

Uncomfortable with occasional moments of actual comedy.  There are actually some very funny moments in Step Brothers, unfortunately they are quite few and far between.  For the most part it is just very awkward to watch.  The premise itself is ridiculous.  I like Will Ferrell but sadly he was at his funniest in Old School and has been unable to match that since.

Synopsis:  Nancy and Robert met at a medical conference and instantly hi it off.  They had so much in common, both still have a live at home son, both of the sons are in their fourties!  Things went so well that Nancy and Robert eventually got married and now they are moving the family into one home.  It’s going to be interesting to say the least.

Film 143/365, Day 153/365 – Lucky Number Slevin

Excellent script that turns you inside out.  I do like a good script and with Lucky Number Slevin you really get that, and it’s is very well delivered by some excellent actors.  It’s dark, funny, clever and thoroughly engaging.  The story continues to grow and twist from the start all the way to the end.  Definitely worth watching.

Synopsis:  Slevin is mistaken for someone else, someone who owes two rival gangsters money.  Now they expect him to pay off the debt regardless of whether he is who they think he is.  But with no money Slevin is going to have to work off the debt!

Film 142/365, Day 152/365 – Kill Bill: Volume 1

An absolute masterpiece of cinematic wonder.  I love Kill Bill, with volume 1 being my favourite of the two.  I am a huge fan of Japanese film and animation and love the way that Tarantino has blended them together with a number of other styles and genres to create this visually, musically and just generally stunning film.  Love it, love it, love it!

Synopsis:  The bride, a former member of the Deadly Viper squad, is attacked and left for dead at her wedding by her former squad members.  When she wakes from a coma to discover that she has lost her unborn child she seeks revenge of all of the members of the Deadly Viper squad and their leader Bill.

Film 141/365, Day 152/365 – Sharktopus

Complete and utter shite.  The acting is bad, the direction is bad, the CGI is bad, the script is bad but the most shocking thing about Sharktopus is that someone actually put up the money to make it.  Almost the worst film I’ve ever seen!

Synopsis:  The military in it’s infinite wisdom creates a Shark-Octopus hybrid which it soon loses control of and it goes on it’s inevitable killing spree.

Review of May 2011

Well, that is the first five months done.  Only seven to go and I have eleven films to make up which is more than last month but it is still not impossible and as long as I keep within touching distance I am confident that it is achievable.

Here is my progress to date

Here is the new to old film ratio.

I saw nine new films this month which keeps me on target for one third of my films being new.

Here are how the films have been rated.

There were five films that scored five stars in May, no zero stars but there were three one star films.  So it's not all been good.

And here is the percentage of my time that I have spent watching films so far this year.

Yet more film stars have joined the list of names at the bottom of each review.  Arnold Schwarzenegger has pulled away with six.

• Arnold Schwarzenegger

Five

• Bruce Willis

Four

• Jim Carrey
• Angelina Jolie

Further updates to come soon.

Film 140/365, Day 151/365 – The Running Man

Still brilliant and quite an accurate view on the media of the future.  Sure it’s all about Arnie running around fighting ever increasingly difficult opponents giving him more and more opportunities to throw one liners after dispatching each one but I can’t help but enjoy the way the media is shown to cut and edit footage to show the public what they want them to see… Excellent, one of my favourite Arnie films.

Synopsis:  In a dark and depressing future humanity is almost entirely reliant on the TV.  The top rated show is the Running Man which gives convicted criminals the chance to win their freedom by taking part in an extreme version of gladiators.  Ben Richards is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and must now take part in the Running Man in an attempt to win back his freedom.

Film 139/365, Day 151/365 – Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

It’s stupid, really really stupid but you’ve got to love it.  This film has so many memorable lines that you will find yourself repeating over and over again.  Ben Stiller is excellent as the slightly unhinged and vain White Goodman.  If you can dodge a wrench then you can dodge a ball!  Again, it is so stupid it is brilliant.

Synopsis:  White Goodman, the owner of Globo Gym, seeks to squash all competition and to do so buys Average Joe’s.  Now in order to save their gym a group of misfits enter a Dodgeball tournament under the tutelage of legendary Dodgeball player Patches O'Houlihan.  The only problem is that White has discovered their plan and has entered his own team!