The Hateful Eight

What to say about this one...

It was really slow to begin with, and I wasn't really feeling the setting and dialogue. It didn't help that my dad pointed out the goof he'd read in the newspapers about the stagecoach moving through the snow: it wouldn't have been able to get through without them running a snowplow ahead of the stagecoach. And once you see those snowplow tracks, it kind of ruins the illusion.

However, it did start to heat up about half way in, and I enjoyed the parts where Samuel L. Jackson's character became a sort of Poirot figure and the film transformed into a Western Agatha Christie. But, at the same time, I wasn't such a fan of all the racial hatred bubbling away in the plot. At times it was just too much, and too depressing. My overall impression of the film was that Tarantino can do, and has done, much better than this.

I'm gonna give it a hateful 6/10

Humpday

Watched over several sittings – perhaps because I didn't enjoy it so much.

There were moments where the acting was just plain terrible, and for a film billing itself as a comedy, there just weren't any lines that made me laugh...at all.

I just didn't get the point of this film. 5/10

The Little Girl Who Lived Down The Lane

It had the feeling of a stage play, but after finishing the film I checked online and it said it was based on a novel.

There was a lot to like about this film – it sets up a sense of danger right from the get-go. There are some interesting characters, and the plot unfolds at a good pace. Martin Sheen plays a convincing creep, and the scene with the hamster is horrific.

Jodie Foster puts in a great performance.

Good film. 8/10

Edge of Tomorrow

Surprisingly good.

I wasn't expecting much going into this, but it actually turned out to be really entertaining. Tom Cruise was good in it, not playing a typical bad-ass, but a cowardly kind of guy who progresses and develops throughout the film. Emily Blunt was absolutely excellent too.

Similarly to another film I watched recently (Premature), the film utilises the Groundhog Day principle, whereby every time Cruise dies, his day is reset. I'm not spoiling it that much given the tagline for the film is "Live Die Repeat".

But what made this film good was the way it used that familiar device. It never felt boring or belaboured. In fact, it explored so many eventualities and possibilities it made the film feel really fun and fresh. I read afterwards it was based on a Japanese Sci-Fi novel/manga called All You Need Is Kill by Sakurazaka Hiroshi, which explains a lot. There were a few minor plot holes and issued glossed over here and there, but nothing that prevented enjoyment.

I would definitely recommend this. 8/10

Sully

This was pretty enjoyable. Exciting and fascinating subject matter, and Clint Eastwood always tells a story well.

Tom Hanks was good.

Not a bad film. 7/10

Don't You Forget About Me

So this sounded great in principle: a group of filmmakers set out to document the career of John Hughes, interviewing previous cast members and crew from his films.

I grew up with John Hughes films, and I'm a big fan of both Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast Club, so I went into this documentary expecting something brilliant.

And that's where I was let down... They had some nice interviews with cast etc. but I think the model they went with to tell a story in the documentary was the undoing of the film. They decided to turn up on John Hughes's front door step with cameras, having not contacted him before or securing an interview.

Needless to say, they got no interview and went home empty handed. Which kind of ruined the whole premise. Very disappointing. 3/10

David Brent: Life on the Road

This film is a stinking piece of garbage.

Watching a man selling out is doubly hard when he's made his career with a great series called Extras which harped on about integrity and not selling out. And that's exactly what this film is: selling out.

It's cringeworthy, but not in a clever ironic way like The Office. It's cringeworthy because the fictional David Brent mirrors the real life crumbling integrity of Ricky Gervais. Surrounded by yes men and constantly praised by critics, he's now unable to realise that this is cack.

Well done – you've shat on your own creation. 1/10

Over The Top

You know why you've never heard of this Sylvester Stallone film from 1987? Because it's an absolute POS.

Stallone is a humble trucker, estranged from his son. The premise of the film: he picks up his son from a military school and goes on a bonding road trip with him. Along the way, it becomes apparent that Stallone is a bad-ass at arm wrestling, and of course, there's some big tournament in Vegas he's gonna take part in at the end.

Predictable, silly, rubbish. 4/10

The Room

Watched this drunk in the early hours of the morning with my brothers. It was my first time to sit through the whole thing from start to finish. I'd seen so many clips of it over the years, so a lot didn't come as a surprise to me, but it still managed to crack all three of us up uncontrollably.

This is the best worst film ever made, and because of that, I deem it un-rateable

The Station Agent

What a beautiful, charming film. One of my favourites I've watched recently. I'm torn between awarding it an 8 or a 9, but I think I'll go with 8. Just. Still, it goes straight into my Love category. Possibly my favourite film I've watched this year, alongside Schultze Gets the Blues.

Fin works in a train shop in the city of Hoboken, NJ with his friend, the shop owner. His friend dies suddenly and leaves him some land and an old train depot in rural New Jersey (Newfoundland). Fin heads up there into early retirement on his own, hoping to live a life of solitude in his old train building near the train tracks. But what he doesn't count on is making new friends.

I loved this film. It had a real grace to it, and ultimately it was a great examination of pure friendship. Joe, who runs a coffee shack outside Fin's new home, was the most loveable character. These adults all have their issues, but deep down they are all just like children in the playground again – looking for friendship.

I think the film did that magical thing whereby it hit upon an original truth in life, but it did so without using clichés. It wasn't about finding a girlfriend for Fin, it was about finding friends who accepted and loved him for who he was – in the way that society in general didn't.

I think I'll watch it again. 8/10