November
87. Justified season 1.
This was - surprisingly fun. I quite liked Raylan, always smiling, even when you can tell he's so, so mad (and his hat!), and there's Boyd and Ava - I kind of want those three as an OT3, being friends and enemies by turns and just generally kick-ass. Here's to hoping seasons 2 & 3 won't spoil that (once I get around to them, anyway).
88. Fright Night
I can't quite decide if I am going to be restrospectively unimpressed with the remake of this for having pretty much cut out all the implied gay and bisexual stuff, or happy that they did, because why is it always the villain? Anyway, it's very much an 80s sort of movie - fun enough, but, well, not that grand either. The fact that the young hero manages to leave a very unfavourable impression in scene one (congratulations, you have just managed to pressure your girlfriend into agreeing to have sex with you, and then you get obsessed with looking at the new neighbour and forget all about her - yeah, you are a real winner, aren't you, boy...) didn't really help...
89. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Very nice. I quite liked this movie - quiet and interesting and I liked the feel of the 1970s British intelligence. Very nice.
90. Restoration
I must admit, the story itself never quite managed to engage me. But the visual part of the movie was quite nice, sometimes even beautiful. Also, it had some visuals of Mr. Downey Jr., that would fit quite well on that tumblr of![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kabal42's - especially that feathery wedding outfit...
91. Skyfall
Oh, this was just pure fun. Loved it. The action scenes were great, the shout-outs to the old movies lovely (poor Ashton Martin), and Judi Dench. Oh. I doubt this movie would have been even remotely possible with any other M. Also, I liked the new Q. I could have lived without the villain-has-captured-Bond-tied-him-to-a-chair-and-is-threatening-to-rape-(or-possibly-just-seduce-him) bit (can we get over the villains as homo- or bisexual thing soon, please?), though it was almost worth it for James' comeback (which must have spawned a thousand slash fics by now, unless I miss my guess). Anyway, loved it
92. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
This was - mostly entertaining. The story was fun enough - Dr. Watson arranges for Sherlock Holmes to be treated for his heroin addiction and paranoia by Freud, and during the psychoanalysis part of the treatment they all get involved in a case that escalates into assassination attempts pr. trained killer horses and a sword duel atop a train. I just wish the story hadn't ended with Freud curing Holmes (explaining every bit of the poor detective's distinct character traits as having been caused by something as banal as a childhood trauma), whereupon Holmes goes for a bit of a holiday, apparently with the lady they just spent half the movie saving from an evil Turk's harem (yes, I rolled my eyes at that part too). I could have lived without the implication that Sherlock Holmes can be cured of being, well, Sherlock Holmes. You know?
93. Downton Abbey season 3.
I was - less than thrilled with this season. They killed of one character I liked, they kept teasing an actual life for Edith without never letting her follow through, and frankly, I am by now so bored of the Bates storyline that I halfway wanted there to be a surprise reveal that yes, he actually was the killer, just because. But mostly, Thomas storyline annoyed (and maybe that was partly because I had read a few pre-season interviews that hinted at positive developments in his lovelife - and then they did this) - thing is, yeah, Thomas is a prickly, snarky, manipulative fellow - first season I wasn't even convinced he was really gay, just scrupulous enough to pretend if he thought he might get ahead. But in the first season it was his scheeming that lead to his downfall, and since then, we've basically seen him fighting for all he's worth to get back on top, and getting pushed back down repeatedly. And then, in this season - yeah, he was scheeming a little (he's Thomas, he scheemes), but making his sexuality and the threat of exposure the problem (yes, he was a bad - seriously, sneeking in to someone while they are asleep - but maybe he realized, deep down, that no, Jimmy isn't really interested, but at least he can pretend for a moment, because maybe he needs to pretend) - I didn't particularly like that, no matter how realistic considering the time it might be - and the resolution to that, where everybody just sort of shrugged - I actually liked that even less. Dammit, either it's a serious issue or it isn't, make up your bloody minds. Yes, Thomas is a son of a bitch, but more and more, I suspect he has lead a life that gives him plenty of reason so to be. Dear show, you try so hard to make him seem someone we should dislike, congratulations, your basically pushing me the other way.
94. Un monstre à Paris
Quite nice, actually. But tell me - why must beauty and the beast stories set in something akin to France always contain a Gaston character? Seriously, the monster hunt part was dull - mostly because it was so very, very predictable. Ah well...
95. Home for the Holidays
This was fun. Not necessarily a movie I feel an overwhelming need to watch twice, but still, mostly fun. I must admit, young Robert Downey isn't quite - he's one of those who looks better now rather than then, but his character was entertaining and he did bring his sister a nice present, didn't he?
December
96. Die Hard
Oh, this was fun. I'd forgotten how fun it is, actually. And how young Bruce Willis was.
97. Treasure Island
The good thing about movie (or in this case mini-series) versions of famous novels is that they give you new and interesting interpretations of characters - and I rather like the change of who is a villain (Squire Trelawney) and who is less villain and more unable to get any respect or control over his band of men (Silver). Admittedly, I spent most of the story getting more and more annoyed with Jim Hawkins, because honestly kid, make up your bloody mind. I find myself thinking he should have just gotten over it and admitted to himself, that what he really wanted was to go to Silver and be his puppy boy and done (no, I don't know where that came from, it's hardly my usual kink, but nevertheless, I suspect this Jim Hawkins would be most happy at Silver's feet - go figure).
98. Pirates! Band of misfits!
Okay, so I was - less than thrilled about this one. Oh, it's entertaining, sure, it's just - maybe too silly for my taste? I don't know.
99. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
I enjoyed it. A lot. It was fun. I liked Martin Freeman's Bilbo, I liked the long opening with the songs (especially the second, the Dungeons Deep one), I liked the epic riddle game, I liked the dwarves - especially Fili and Kili (admittedly, they're easy to like - lots of screentime, lots of interaction with Bilbo, young and makes mistakes, played by recognisable actors (one a Norse god, the other a vampire)), Bofur (who keeps saying the absolutely worst things) and - of course - Thorin, who is all epic and brave and sadly not too impressed with our Bilbo, but let's be fair - Thorin is on a serious business quest and the old wizard insists that this weird little guy has to tag along? That said, I found his remarks after they got out of the mountains and realize that Bilbo's missing - yeah, Bilbo survived that trip, but that was sheer luck - what if he and that goblin had changed places, what if Bilbo had fallen on the hard ground and the goblin on those very conveniently placed fungi? Bilbo might so very easily have ended his adventure in Gollum's belly... Though I will say, I admire Thorin for how he, having realized how wrong he is, makes it his first priority to apologize, barely taking time to, you know, catching his breath after almost(?) dying. I admire that.
In general, I liked it. It's a lot sillier than the Lord of the Rings - unsurprisingly, as the LotR was actually a very serious work, and the movies minimized what silliness there was even further (no Tom Bombadil :-( ). Conversely, it seems as if the Hobbit adds to the silliness of the movie version (frankly, I could have lived without meeting Radagast - though I liked how they're weaving a lot of the information from the appendixes into the story, but still - and I could have managed with Azog, or rather, these CGI orcs aren't my thing - I find them a lot less realistic than the ones in LotR). Also, I like how this is a rare fantasy movie that doesn't have any humans - I mean, most fantasy movies either focus on them or have them as main supporting cast. But here, we hardly see them - they are briefly glimpsed in the flashback to Dale, they exist somewhere, but unseen - this is a world of dwarf and hobbit, elf and orc and goblin, Istari and warg and dragon - not of man. I find that I like that (yes, I know we'll see humans later, but still, here and now, I like it), and I like how the absence of humans allow for instance the dwarves to show far more personality and individuality than the usual appearance of the token fantasy dwarf.
Also, I find that I can't remember the order of the encounters in the Hobbit, not quite, and it occurs to me, that it's been a very long time since I read the book, and actually, I don't think I've ever read it in English, so make that a very, very long time. Maybe I should.
100. Mysteriet på Greveholm - Grevens återkomst
I stumbled across the original Mysteriet på Greveholm christmas calender (from the 1990s) last year on Youtube and was quite happy to find that apparently this year Swedish tv had made a sequel - complete with ghosts, aliens, robots, short, secret agents working for the big man with the white beard, etc. It was fun - admittedly, I didn't particularly like most of the new quirky family to move into the castle - but then, the old one's children were all grown up and none of them quite old enough to have children the right age of the protagonists of a christmas calender (though the oldest daughter, Melitta, had managed to have a child - little Cappucino *really hopes that's just a nickname*). Anyway, I liked the ghost duo (though I missed their weaponry), I liked how the show managed to weave the old family into the narrative, and I actually liked the villain - the evil Count von Dy, who was defeated by way of soda in the first series, but thanks to the stupid, idiot boy in the new family, he is restored to life - unlife? - first as a skeleton, then as a full human. And he is a villain - complete with plans ofworldconsiderable-part-of-Sweden conquest, a murderous disposition (and finding out that one of his victim's was actually his own son doesn't make him seem nicer), locking a woman up in a tower for 200 years to get her to marry him, creating the world's most adorable gryphon hybrid monsters - and yet I can't help it, because it must be so undignified to be a scary, powerful nobleman only to return to life as a skeleton in a dress on wheels and then he becomes a flaily, 17th/18th century person reminding me of some portrayals of Mozart in appearance and just not getting it or understanding that he's in the 21st century - and I am sorry for how he ends, though I can easily see an opening for a new sequel. Anyway, it was fun.
101. Downton Abbey: A Journey to the Highlands
I'm sort of meh about this - as far as Christmas specials go, it was pretty - summerly? Also, nothing much really seemed to happen of substance - plots introduced and resolved without anywhere really to go. Thomas and Jimmy seems to manage to become friends, but where that can go, considering Jimmy's not showing any indication whatsoever of being interested, well... And of course, there was the pregnancy/birth plot and how very convenient that a new son (and heir to the estate) is born just before Matthew's actor leaves, isn't it? I wonder who would have been in line to inherit if it had been a girl? Nevermind. But not particularly exiting, is my point - seriously, Downton, get a grip or I might decide you've wasted enough of my time, do you hear?
87. Justified season 1.
This was - surprisingly fun. I quite liked Raylan, always smiling, even when you can tell he's so, so mad (and his hat!), and there's Boyd and Ava - I kind of want those three as an OT3, being friends and enemies by turns and just generally kick-ass. Here's to hoping seasons 2 & 3 won't spoil that (once I get around to them, anyway).
88. Fright Night
I can't quite decide if I am going to be restrospectively unimpressed with the remake of this for having pretty much cut out all the implied gay and bisexual stuff, or happy that they did, because why is it always the villain? Anyway, it's very much an 80s sort of movie - fun enough, but, well, not that grand either. The fact that the young hero manages to leave a very unfavourable impression in scene one (congratulations, you have just managed to pressure your girlfriend into agreeing to have sex with you, and then you get obsessed with looking at the new neighbour and forget all about her - yeah, you are a real winner, aren't you, boy...) didn't really help...
89. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Very nice. I quite liked this movie - quiet and interesting and I liked the feel of the 1970s British intelligence. Very nice.
90. Restoration
I must admit, the story itself never quite managed to engage me. But the visual part of the movie was quite nice, sometimes even beautiful. Also, it had some visuals of Mr. Downey Jr., that would fit quite well on that tumblr of
kabal42's - especially that feathery wedding outfit...91. Skyfall
Oh, this was just pure fun. Loved it. The action scenes were great, the shout-outs to the old movies lovely (poor Ashton Martin), and Judi Dench. Oh. I doubt this movie would have been even remotely possible with any other M. Also, I liked the new Q. I could have lived without the villain-has-captured-Bond-tied-him-to-a-chair-and-is-threatening-to-rape-(or-possibly-just-seduce-him) bit (can we get over the villains as homo- or bisexual thing soon, please?), though it was almost worth it for James' comeback (which must have spawned a thousand slash fics by now, unless I miss my guess). Anyway, loved it
92. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
This was - mostly entertaining. The story was fun enough - Dr. Watson arranges for Sherlock Holmes to be treated for his heroin addiction and paranoia by Freud, and during the psychoanalysis part of the treatment they all get involved in a case that escalates into assassination attempts pr. trained killer horses and a sword duel atop a train. I just wish the story hadn't ended with Freud curing Holmes (explaining every bit of the poor detective's distinct character traits as having been caused by something as banal as a childhood trauma), whereupon Holmes goes for a bit of a holiday, apparently with the lady they just spent half the movie saving from an evil Turk's harem (yes, I rolled my eyes at that part too). I could have lived without the implication that Sherlock Holmes can be cured of being, well, Sherlock Holmes. You know?
93. Downton Abbey season 3.
I was - less than thrilled with this season. They killed of one character I liked, they kept teasing an actual life for Edith without never letting her follow through, and frankly, I am by now so bored of the Bates storyline that I halfway wanted there to be a surprise reveal that yes, he actually was the killer, just because. But mostly, Thomas storyline annoyed (and maybe that was partly because I had read a few pre-season interviews that hinted at positive developments in his lovelife - and then they did this) - thing is, yeah, Thomas is a prickly, snarky, manipulative fellow - first season I wasn't even convinced he was really gay, just scrupulous enough to pretend if he thought he might get ahead. But in the first season it was his scheeming that lead to his downfall, and since then, we've basically seen him fighting for all he's worth to get back on top, and getting pushed back down repeatedly. And then, in this season - yeah, he was scheeming a little (he's Thomas, he scheemes), but making his sexuality and the threat of exposure the problem (yes, he was a bad - seriously, sneeking in to someone while they are asleep - but maybe he realized, deep down, that no, Jimmy isn't really interested, but at least he can pretend for a moment, because maybe he needs to pretend) - I didn't particularly like that, no matter how realistic considering the time it might be - and the resolution to that, where everybody just sort of shrugged - I actually liked that even less. Dammit, either it's a serious issue or it isn't, make up your bloody minds. Yes, Thomas is a son of a bitch, but more and more, I suspect he has lead a life that gives him plenty of reason so to be. Dear show, you try so hard to make him seem someone we should dislike, congratulations, your basically pushing me the other way.
94. Un monstre à Paris
Quite nice, actually. But tell me - why must beauty and the beast stories set in something akin to France always contain a Gaston character? Seriously, the monster hunt part was dull - mostly because it was so very, very predictable. Ah well...
95. Home for the Holidays
This was fun. Not necessarily a movie I feel an overwhelming need to watch twice, but still, mostly fun. I must admit, young Robert Downey isn't quite - he's one of those who looks better now rather than then, but his character was entertaining and he did bring his sister a nice present, didn't he?
December
96. Die Hard
Oh, this was fun. I'd forgotten how fun it is, actually. And how young Bruce Willis was.
97. Treasure Island
The good thing about movie (or in this case mini-series) versions of famous novels is that they give you new and interesting interpretations of characters - and I rather like the change of who is a villain (Squire Trelawney) and who is less villain and more unable to get any respect or control over his band of men (Silver). Admittedly, I spent most of the story getting more and more annoyed with Jim Hawkins, because honestly kid, make up your bloody mind. I find myself thinking he should have just gotten over it and admitted to himself, that what he really wanted was to go to Silver and be his puppy boy and done (no, I don't know where that came from, it's hardly my usual kink, but nevertheless, I suspect this Jim Hawkins would be most happy at Silver's feet - go figure).
98. Pirates! Band of misfits!
Okay, so I was - less than thrilled about this one. Oh, it's entertaining, sure, it's just - maybe too silly for my taste? I don't know.
99. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
I enjoyed it. A lot. It was fun. I liked Martin Freeman's Bilbo, I liked the long opening with the songs (especially the second, the Dungeons Deep one), I liked the epic riddle game, I liked the dwarves - especially Fili and Kili (admittedly, they're easy to like - lots of screentime, lots of interaction with Bilbo, young and makes mistakes, played by recognisable actors (one a Norse god, the other a vampire)), Bofur (who keeps saying the absolutely worst things) and - of course - Thorin, who is all epic and brave and sadly not too impressed with our Bilbo, but let's be fair - Thorin is on a serious business quest and the old wizard insists that this weird little guy has to tag along? That said, I found his remarks after they got out of the mountains and realize that Bilbo's missing - yeah, Bilbo survived that trip, but that was sheer luck - what if he and that goblin had changed places, what if Bilbo had fallen on the hard ground and the goblin on those very conveniently placed fungi? Bilbo might so very easily have ended his adventure in Gollum's belly... Though I will say, I admire Thorin for how he, having realized how wrong he is, makes it his first priority to apologize, barely taking time to, you know, catching his breath after almost(?) dying. I admire that.
In general, I liked it. It's a lot sillier than the Lord of the Rings - unsurprisingly, as the LotR was actually a very serious work, and the movies minimized what silliness there was even further (no Tom Bombadil :-( ). Conversely, it seems as if the Hobbit adds to the silliness of the movie version (frankly, I could have lived without meeting Radagast - though I liked how they're weaving a lot of the information from the appendixes into the story, but still - and I could have managed with Azog, or rather, these CGI orcs aren't my thing - I find them a lot less realistic than the ones in LotR). Also, I like how this is a rare fantasy movie that doesn't have any humans - I mean, most fantasy movies either focus on them or have them as main supporting cast. But here, we hardly see them - they are briefly glimpsed in the flashback to Dale, they exist somewhere, but unseen - this is a world of dwarf and hobbit, elf and orc and goblin, Istari and warg and dragon - not of man. I find that I like that (yes, I know we'll see humans later, but still, here and now, I like it), and I like how the absence of humans allow for instance the dwarves to show far more personality and individuality than the usual appearance of the token fantasy dwarf.
Also, I find that I can't remember the order of the encounters in the Hobbit, not quite, and it occurs to me, that it's been a very long time since I read the book, and actually, I don't think I've ever read it in English, so make that a very, very long time. Maybe I should.
100. Mysteriet på Greveholm - Grevens återkomst
I stumbled across the original Mysteriet på Greveholm christmas calender (from the 1990s) last year on Youtube and was quite happy to find that apparently this year Swedish tv had made a sequel - complete with ghosts, aliens, robots, short, secret agents working for the big man with the white beard, etc. It was fun - admittedly, I didn't particularly like most of the new quirky family to move into the castle - but then, the old one's children were all grown up and none of them quite old enough to have children the right age of the protagonists of a christmas calender (though the oldest daughter, Melitta, had managed to have a child - little Cappucino *really hopes that's just a nickname*). Anyway, I liked the ghost duo (though I missed their weaponry), I liked how the show managed to weave the old family into the narrative, and I actually liked the villain - the evil Count von Dy, who was defeated by way of soda in the first series, but thanks to the stupid, idiot boy in the new family, he is restored to life - unlife? - first as a skeleton, then as a full human. And he is a villain - complete with plans of
101. Downton Abbey: A Journey to the Highlands
I'm sort of meh about this - as far as Christmas specials go, it was pretty - summerly? Also, nothing much really seemed to happen of substance - plots introduced and resolved without anywhere really to go. Thomas and Jimmy seems to manage to become friends, but where that can go, considering Jimmy's not showing any indication whatsoever of being interested, well... And of course, there was the pregnancy/birth plot and how very convenient that a new son (and heir to the estate) is born just before Matthew's actor leaves, isn't it? I wonder who would have been in line to inherit if it had been a girl? Nevermind. But not particularly exiting, is my point - seriously, Downton, get a grip or I might decide you've wasted enough of my time, do you hear?
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