This year I managed to watch 250 films which isn’t bad going at all! Amongst those 250 films, I went to the cinema 50 times

Deciding what my films of the year are though is tough. Much like the gaming year, it’s been a good year for films but I’m struggling to think of something that will stick in my memory for many years to come. Simply put, there are plenty of 4 star games/films out there, not so many 5 stars though.

I’ll resurrect the categories from last year to add some structure to this ramble of a blog post.

Most overrated
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One

Oh Potter. I’m not much of a Harry Potter fan admittedly but I ended up watching all of the Harry Potter films in preparation for this as my Mum was keen to see her first Potter film at the cinema. Part One was ridiculously slow and dull with some utterly cringeworthy acting too. Wandering around the wilderness in a book for a long time is probably quite interesting. In a film, it feels needless and could have done with some hefty editing.

Honourable mention in this category goes to Bridesmaids. Ignore all the comments about how it’s a female Hangover. It’s not. It’s just a regular chickflick with slightly more attitude but not enough to propel it any higher than average. It makes being female look utterly boring!

Most watched at the cinema
Limitless, The Hangover 2 and The Inbetweeners

A dead heat between these three, each watched twice. The Hangover 2 isn’t anywhere near as good as the first but it is entertaining, plus the Bradley Cooper factor helps. I maintain Limitless is quite a good film with an interesting concept. Oh and there’s Bradley Cooper again…

The Inbetweeners has no men worth looking at but it’s bloody good fun. This year’s Hangover funnily enough (unlike Bridesmaids!).

Most thought provoking
50/50

I don’t think I’ve seen any particularly thought provoking films that came out this year which has been a real shame. I saw Rendition for the first time but that’s not new. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was very interesting, but thought provoking? Nope.

So I’m giving this award to 50/50 purely because it’s an interesting look at how to deal with such grim news. I’ll talk about that more shortly though.

Redemption of the year
?

No one has really redeemed themselves this year like Leonardo DiCaprio did in 2010. I dislike Michael Cera less thanks to discovering Arrested Development but he still plays the same role in every film, I’ve just learnt to put up with it.

I’m pleased to see Joseph Gordon Levitt shining through now but I always knew that he was a good actor. Maybe Jude Law? He seems to have settled down a bit and become a reasonable actor. No one’s truly stood out to me yet though.

Maybe 2012 will be the year that Charlie Sheen redeems all……or perhaps not.

Ignored by everyone but really quite good
The Devil’s Double

I can’t think of anyone else I know who’s seen this but The Devil’s Double is really rather good. Clearly demonstrating that Dominic Cooper can be a great actor if given the right script, it’s not an easy watch but it is gripping. I’m unsure of its accuracy but it’s not meant to be a documentary so the story it tells (Saddam Hussein’s son ‘hires’ a body double – some poor sod who’s unlucky enough to look like him) is very interesting.

Film that delivered exactly what I expected
Sherlock Holmes 2

Bigger, better, funnier is how Empire described Sherlock Holmes 2. It’s certainly bigger. I’m not so sure about better or funnier. I’m unconvinced by Moriarity who lacks any real menance. It delivers exactly what you expect though. It’s fun, action packed and exciteable. Liked the first one? This is a no brainer.

Biggest surprise
The Inbetweeners

I’d seen a few episodes of The Inbetweeners but that was about it. My Mum and I were looking for something to see one Bank Holiday and that was the only film on at the time we were standing outside the cinema so we gave it a shot. Funniest film I’ve seen all year! Ended up seeing it a second time not long after and now I own the Blu-ray. Well written to ensure plenty of laughs but never overdoing it.

Second best film of the year
The Fighter

Somewhat deserving of the previous award is The Fighter. I’ve never seen a boxing film before due to having no interest at all in the sport. I like Christian Bale though and I wanted to see all the Oscar nominated films. I wasn’t a fan of Mark Wahlberg though as, while he always seems like a nice person, he really can’t act. He just looks a bit befuddled most of the time. Fortunately, he was great in The Fighter and Christian Bale was mesmerising and deserving of the Oscar. From the moment the film started, I was hooked. It’s not really about boxing anyway, more about family dynamics.

Film of the Year
50/50

Pipping The Fighter to the prize of my film of the year is 50/50 – a film that genuinely does make you cry as much as it makes you laugh. Joseph Gordon Levitt was always a great actor before but since 50/50, he really should be appreciated by more people. He conveys the humour in tragedy while also showing the desperation and denial perfectly too. As cliched as it sounds (and believe me, I hate this phrase), it really is quite an uplifting film despite the subject matter.

There are a few films I haven’t seen that I’m very keen to catch up with. Notably, Midnight in Paris, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Drive. All films that my local cinema decided not to show (or in the case of Drive, only show at about 11pm at night for a few nights). I’m seeing Midnight in Paris in the next few weeks at the local arthouse cinema (as well as Shame which I’m very keen to see!) and I have Drive pre-ordered on Blu-ray. So I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these categories change around. Oh and I’ll be seeing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo in the next week too!

2012: I’m most looking forward to J Edgar, The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers and Skyfall. Plus catching up on some older classics that I’ve bought over the past year and still not seen!

Love Actually is one of my favourite Christmas films. It’s not quite my absolute favourite because I can’t settle on just one (throw in Home Alone, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Santa Claus: The Movie and Die Hard and I still can’t decide!).

It holds a huge amount of memories for me despite its relative youthfulness (sort of – it’s 8 years old now).

When it first came out in 2003, I was a first year at University. It was a crap academic year. I’d coped stupidly badly after a break up (the kind of thing in hindsight that you realise just how young you were at the time but it felt so, so important at the time!) but really the main problem was the plethora of upheaval I had going on at the time plus some less than helpful new housemates.

I went to see Love Actually with my Mum having got some free tickets from a copy of Heat magazine. It was a great couple of hours of mother/daughter bonding. Due to the whole silly break up thing, I remember mostly emphathising with the Andrew Lincoln character and the whole unrequited love thing. Even more so given that I was on a bit of a Dido kick at the time and one of her songs featured during a relevant scene. Yeah, I was so cool in 2003.

I got out of that crappy phase of life and Love Actually turned into a good, happy Christmas film. One that me and my Dad would always persuade my Mum to watch every Christmas even though we all knew the script.

Along the way, I reacted differently to the film each time. As I grew up, I appreciated the complexities of life. Not in terms of being able to relate directly but to see the different shades of life. It’s become an interesting benchmark of how I’ve changed as I’ve grown up a bit more.

In all Richard Curtis films, there’s the sad, poignant bit. Much in life really. Now, I watch it and get the terrible sadness of Liam Neeson’s situation in the film (and tragically in life now too). That’s not to say that Love Actually does that part well. From what I’ve seen and know of how my Mum feels, it’s quite ridiculous to think that his character would be happy to date Claudia Schiffer a month after the death of his wife (even if it is Claudia Schiffer!), but this is a film. Things have to be wrapped up relatively fast. Plus it is Christmas. No one wants to spend time with the grieving at Christmas. In a film or otherwise. Blunt but true.

It’s weird seeing a film so regularly yet seeing it from a different perspective each time. I’m not saying Love Actually is an amazing film for everyone but it has its place in life for me. My Mum and I couldn’t watch it for the first couple of years after my Dad died. We watched it last year but didn’t really enjoy it. I watched it on my own today and quite enjoyed it. It looks likely I’ll be watching it a second time, with my Mum this time, soon.

It still feels odd to do so though. Like a lot of things in life, especially around Christmas.

I’m ill. I make a crap ill person who whines too much but worst of all, keeps going then wonders why they feel even worse. This aside, I have a competition to launch on here!

The kind folks at Three UK have provided me with an iPhone accessory to give out to someone on here, in order to promote their iPhone services.

So what have I got to give away? It’s a Kensington Charge and Sync Dock for the iPhone which are rather useful devices that look shiny on a desk.

What do you need to do to win this? Not much!

Just comment on this blog post and I’ll randomly pick a winner on Monday 19th December at 7pmish. Oh and make sure the email address you enter is valid otherwise I can’t contact you!

November was a strange month. Fair amount of work on but I also spent much of it looking after my Mum who’s been pretty ill. Truthfully, it was a bit of a crap month. I’m glad it’s gone. While I still feel drained, I’m hoping my energy levels will be restored soon enough. Anyway, a TON of films were watched in November. I spent a lot of time working in front of the TV with my Mum, plus we subscribed to Sky Movies which gave us plenty of films to watch (even if a lot did seem to be films we already own).

Anyway, on with the write up. In all, I’m up to 231! A ridiculous number across a year.

1st: The Ides of March (cinema) – All was well at this time so a rare (for November) trip to the cinema. Great film. Probably nothing hugely special in the script department but Ryan Gosling’s performance ensured it was a cut above the rest. I’ve still not seen Drive. I can’t wait for the Blu-ray release next month. Political film fans: do go see this by the way. It might not be up to Aaron Sorkin levels but it’s still worth a watch.

2nd: Flatliners – Never seen this, always wanted to so I’m glad it was on TV. Good film. Creepy but good. Demonstrates how good Kevin Bacon can be too.

4th: Tucker and Dale vs. Evil – This was a total surprise! A good friend of mine mostly made me watch it as I was distinctly unsure about it. Loved it. Admittedly the first 30 minutes or so is vastly superior to the rest of it but it’s still very good. Those slasher films where the hillbillies chase after the innocent US teens? Think that but from the hillbillies’ perspective. Oh and they’re not the bad guys. Great stuff.

5th: X-Men First Class – Saw this at the cinema. Picked up the Blu-ray. Excellent film. Always been an X-Men fan thanks to a childhood of watching the Marvel Action Hour and tracking down comicbooks. It does a good job of explaining the origins even despite a little creative license that I can forgive it. Looking forward to the next film.

8th: Michael Clayton – I deprived this film a little, only watching it with one eye. It’s a film that you need to concentrate a little more than that. What I did pay attention to though was a great film. Good performance by George Clooney too.

11th: Bridesmaids – Saw this at the cinema and wasn’t convinced. Touted as a female Hangover, it’s really not. It’s too chick flickish and just not very funny really. While The Hangover made me think it looked excellent fun to be male, Bridesmaids just reminded me of the restrictions that women place on their own fun. Ultimately, while there are great individual turns from Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy and Chris O’Dowd, the film as a whole left me cold. My Mum liked it at the cinema but having rewatched it on DVD she was as unimpressed as me. To the point that I cancelled a pre-order I had for it for a Christmas!

12th: You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger – My Mum’s choice as it was her birthday and she was ill. It’s not bad. Not one of Woody Allen’s bests by a long shot though. Little too samey compared to his other work.

13th: Iron Man (part) – Can’t resist this film and it happened to be on. Only watched about half of it. Loved every second as always. Love comic book heroes, love anything with Robert Downey Jr in. Perfect!

14th: Hot Fuzz – Finally got round to watching the Blu-ray of this that I got for my birthday in October. Great film. So many little nuances and cool in jokes to spot. While Shaun of the Dead is my favourite, Hot Fuzz is probably the superior one of the two.

16th: Get Him To The Greek, All About Steve, Lethal Weapon 3 (part), Airplane (part) – Yes, 4 films. Otherwise known as ‘We signed up to Sky Movies today’ day. Get Him To The Greek has been much maligned, probably because a lot of people can’t stand Russell Brand. I like him and I like this film. I think it’s actually quite sad in the end and sharply cynical.

While I’m on the ‘liking films others hate’ kick, All About Steve is the same. I really don’t get why it’s hated so much more than other inferior rom coms. It’s no masterpiece by a long shot but it’s fine. A lot worse films have been rewarded better reviews than All About Steve.

Lethal Weapon 3 has aged absolutely terribly. Switched it off disappointed.

Airplane is an utter classic comedy film. I know the script thanks to having watched it as a kid tons. If you haven’t seen it, you really, really must.

17th: The Joneses – Strange film. Difficult to label really. I think it’s widely regarded as a rom com. It’s really, really not. It’s quite a cynical look at consumerism and how everyone has to have what their neighbours have (hence the Joneses…keeping up with the…you get it). It’s certainly interesting.

18th: Dinner for Schmucks – Not a great film at all. Very easy to watch though. Steve Carrell is criminally underused. Nice turn by Chris O Dowd near the end in a very silly sequence.

19th: Valentine’s Day, Iron Man 2 – Talking of not great films but easy to watch, Valentine’s Day. Not a lot to say about it really. Iron Man 2 probably isn’t as good as the first Iron Man but it is good fun. So yeah, a day of fun but shallow.

20th: Sherlock Holmes, Date Night, Extract, The Invention of Lying – Can’t resist Sherlock Holmes or Robert Downey Jr. Good Sunday afternoon film too! Date Night is underrated on the silly but fun comedy front and a suitable partner to Sherlock Holmes style daringness. Stumbled across Extract and it looked good as it starred Jason Bateman and was written by the same guy as Office Space. It was ok. Nothing amazing. Shame really. The Invention of Lying is far from Ricky Gervais’ best work but it’s ok. Easy enough to watch. Clearly, the 20th was a day where easy to watch films were vital!

21st: The Informant – I don’t remember this particularly clearly thanks to doing half a dozen other things at the same time. Oops. I did watch this a while back though and remember liking it at least. So erm, yeah.

22nd: Killers, Grown Ups, Youth in Revolt, When Harry Met Sally (part) – Killers is not a great film. Ashton Kutcher, while easy on the eye, is not a great actor but he is likeable. The film is an entertaining enough proposition but don’t go out of your way to see it. Grown Ups is much the same. Mindless but entertaining at the time. Then you get to the end and realise you wasted two hours!

Youth in Revolt is a more interesting film. I can’t stand Michael Cera but he’s redeemed himself a bit thanks to me discovering Arrested Development and my love of Scott Pilgrim (the film NOT the character!). The first 30 minutes of Youth in Revolt is great then it falters a little. It’s still enjoyable but you can’t help but feel disappointed after such a great opening.

When Harry Met Sally regularly vies for the title of my favourite film of all time. The other film being Shaun of the Dead. I absolutely adore When Harry Met Sally. So quote worthy and sharply written. I caught it about 30 minutes in late that night and stayed up to watch it despite owning the DVD. If you’ve not seen it, you really, really should see it.

23rd: The A-Team, Burke & Hare – Bradley Cooper is in The A-Team. I don’t think I need to say any more than that as to my reasonings behind watching it! I’ve seen Burke & Hare before too. The accents are atrocious but again falls into the easy to watch camp. Can you tell the last week or so of November was the most tiring and the time in which I needed the easiest of films to watch?

24th: Hot Tub Time Machine, The Rum Diary (cinema) – Yup, another easy to watch film. Hot Tub Time Machine isn’t great but it’s fun. John Cusack is underused but when isn’t he these days? What happened to the Grosse Point Blank days?! Now, he’s hardly in anything good. Such a shame.

The Rum Diary was the first cinema visit since the start of the month which is ages compared to usual months! Johnny Depp plays his usual role but that’s no bad thing at all. It also feels a little long with the story losing its way somewhere in the middle. It’s worth a watch though. I really want to read the book now too.

25th: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (part) – Stumbled across this when I was planning to play a game instead. The fact that I ended up watching most of it is a testament to what a quality kids film it is. Did remind me of a child I know though! Must watch the whole film at some point.

26th: The Tailor of Panama (part) – I should probably scratch this off the list as I really didn’t pay proper attention to it despite watching over half of it (my definition for it making the list). Pierce Brosnan really can’t act and does an absolutely bizarre accent in this.

27th: Catch Me If You Can (part) – Yet another film I’ve seen before and one that Leonardo DiCaprio shines in, as always.

28th: Due Date – Stick this under the shallow Robert Downey Jr list of films I watch. I’m not coming out of this month’s roundup well, am I?

29th: Dream House (cinema), GI Joe (part), Rendition – Dream House sounded good. The cast was quite good. The trailer looked quite good too. On that note, don’t see the trailer before seeing the film. It spoils things. Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a crap film. I can only assume that Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz signed up to do it just so they could spend some time together. It also gets absolutely ridiculous near the end. I like silly films. This one though is just pure ‘WTF went through your head you silly, silly writer?!’.

On a silly note, I switched GI Joe off 30 minutes in. It didn’t feel silly, it just felt boring. Boo.

Rendition was the highlight of the day. Often uncomfortable to watch, it’s a fascinating insight into a world that shouldn’t be real. Unfortunately as it’s based on a true story, it is, at least partially so.

Phew, that was a huge roundup. One month to go! Then I’m not quite sure what to do next. Whether to continue with this or not.

November has gone somewhere very, very fast. It’s been a hectic time both work wise and personal life wise for many reasons. Looking back to see my last blog entry dated 8th November is quite surprising. It feels like it was only last week! On the plus side, I’m still attending the gym and enjoying it which is good.

Anyway, work update otherwise known as me talking myself up slightly.

First up, I’ve written a couple of reviews for IncGamers! Hopefully there will be more to come soon.

I reviewed Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken which was quite a pleasant surprise of a game.

Most surprising of all was the other game I reviewed: Sonic Generations! I really liked it despite its flaws (hence the score). I played it solidly over a weekend as my editor wanted a fast turnaround yet still had an urge to return to it which is saying something. I can see how it wouldn’t be worth £40 though.

Continuing the chicken theme and in honour of Thanksgiving, I wrote a piece for GamePro called Attack of the Mutant Turkeys. I looked at the 10 best moments of poultry-themed violence in games. I could have quite easily extended that to 20. Games are obsessed with chickens!

So yeah, that’s some of what’s kept me busy over the past few weeks. There’s a review of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 going up over at play.tm soon too.