Shona Is (allegedly) Here

Like the title says, I aten't ded.

I was at Bicon this weekend, where there were various folk who still use DW - and it gave me an idea.

I used to use JournalFen (RIP) to keep lists of all the films T.E.P. and I went to see with our Cineworld Unlimited cards. I had a WordPress as a back-up, which was just as well when JF went tits up. And for the last couple of years I've been occasionally thinking that our back-up was now primary and didn't have a back-up. It's rare that there's any more comment than a star rating, but it is important to us to have the record.

And so here we are. I suspect there will continue to be very little but the titles, but that's what's important.

1. Star Wars: The Last Jedi [again] ***** [again]
2. Jumanji – Welcome to the Jungle *****

3. Winchester **(/X?)
4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri *****

5. Coco PPP/PPPP
6. Downsizing ****
7. Terminator ***** (Still choosing to watch a 1984 film. Score is pretty much *by definition* *****)

8. Black Panther ***/****
9. The Shape Of Water

10. Red Sparrow *****
11. I, Tonya ***/****
[Lady Bird – introducing a new notation. 1/X as a film where the quality is way higher than the enjoyment]

12. Mom & Dad X

13. You Were Never Really Here *****

14. A Wrinkle In Time ***

15. Tomb Raider **/***
16. Thoroughbreds 1/X
17. Pacific Rim Uprising X

18. A Quiet Place ****
19. Ghost Stories [ungraded because we left early]

20. Wildling … … Film of two halves, that one – ended up an X
21. Rampage X
22. Avengers: Infinity War ***/****(*?)

[Avengers again]

23. Tully *****

24. Revenge X

25. Solo: A Star Wars Story ***

26. Deadpool 2 *****
27. Jurassic World: The Middle One 7/10

28. Adrift ****
29. Leave No Trace ****1/2

30. Ocean’s 8 ****
31. The First Purge X
32. The Incredibles 2 PPPP

33. Skyscraper X
34. Hotel Artemis *****

1. The Good Dinosaur PPP
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens ****(*) [2nd time around hence an honorary extra star]

3. The Danish Girl **

4. The Big Short *****
5. Room ****
6. The Fifth Wave ***

7. Deadpool *****

[The Revenant **]
[Spotlight ***]

8. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies X

9. London Has Fallen X

10. The Forest ***/****

11. Anomalisa We left before the end.

12. 10 Cloverfield Lane ***** / ***

13. High Rise ****** (for adaptation of Ballard), * (for enjoyable film)

14. Hardcore Henry X

15. The Huntsman: Winter’s War X/****
16. Criminal X

17. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice ****
18. Zootopia PPPP [not a Pixar film, who normally rate “P” ratings, but worthy of being judged to the same standard – by normal standards an easy *****]
19. The Jungle Book */**

20. Captain America: Civil War ****

21. World Of Warcraft: The Beginning **
22. When Marnie Was There ***/****

23. Independence Day: Resurgence X [so very X]
24. X-Men: Apocalypse ****

25. The Neon Demon *

26. Ghostbusters (2016) *****
27. Now You SeeMe 2 ***/****

28. The Secret Life of Pets ***
29. The BFG ***

30. Star Trek Beyond ****
31. Suicide Squad ****

32. Finding Dory **** (not rated in Pixar “P”s)
33. The Shallows ****

34. Morgan *****
35. Swallows and Amazons ****
36. The Purge: Election Year ****/X

37. Kubo and the Two Strings ***
38. The Girl with All the Gifts *****
39. The Infiltrator **/***

40. Storks ***
41. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children ***
42. Deepwater Horizon ***

43. Train to Busan X [**** worth of X]

44. Dr Strange ****
45. Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them ***
46. Your Name *****
47. The Edge Of Seventeen ****/*****
48. Moana *****/****
49. Arrival *****

1. Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom ****
2. Last Vegas ****
3. American Hustle ****/[abstention]

4. The Railway Man ***/****[-]

5. The Delivery Man ***
6. 12 Years A Slave *****

7. August: Osage County ***/****
8. Inside Llewyn Davies ***/**
9. I, Frankenstein X

10. The Invisible Woman ***/****
11. Dallas Buyers’ Club ****
[11a. Lone Survivor ***(/**)]

12. The Lego Movie *****
13. Robocop ****[-}

14. her *****
15. The Monuments Men ***

16. Only Lovers Left Alive ****/***
17. A [New York] Winter’s Tale ***

18. Cuban Fury ***
19. Yurusarezaru Mono (Unforgiven) ****

20. The Grand Budapest Hotel ****/abstention
21. 300: Rise Of An Empire abstention/*

22. The Zero Theorem **
23. Under The Skin ** / TBD
24. Ironclad 2: Battle For Blood *

25. About Last Night ***
26. A Long Way Down ***

27. The Legend of Hercules **/X
28. Non-Stop ****

29. Last Days On Mars *** (or an Honourary X for SPACE ZOMBIES!)
30. The Raid 2 ****

31. Captain America: The Winter Soldier ****

32. The Other Woman ***/****

33. Locke ****
34. Tracks ****

35. Pompeii X

36. Transcendence *
37. Divergent **

38. The Wind Rises ****/*****

39. In Secret **

40. The Two Faces Of January **

41. X-Men: Days of Future Past ****
42. Godzilla X (Honorary X because it was a nice simple monster B movie.)

43. Edge Of Tomorrow ****

44. Maleficent ****
45. Oculus ****

46. Belle ****

47. The Anomaly ****[+]

48. Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann **** / *****

49. Chef ****

50. How To Train Your Dragon 2 ****

51. Begin Again ***

52. Hercules Honorary X

53. The Purge: Anarchy ****

54. Guardians of the Galaxy *****

55. The Rover ** / ?
56. The Congress *

57. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ****
58. Lucy X

59. The Keeper of Lost Causes / Kvinden i buret ***[+]

60. As Above, So Below **** / X

61. Into The Storm X
62. Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For ***

63. The Guest *****
64. Kraftidioten / In Order of Disappearance ****

65. A Most Wanted Man ****

66. Pride *****

67. Violette *

68. Life After Beth ****[+]

69. Gone Girl **** / *****

70. The Equalizer **

71. Dracula Untold X

72. ’71 ****

73. The Day Of The Dead ****/***
[The Babadook ****]

74. Nightcrawler n/a

[Interstellar * - Me only. T.E.P. made the right choice 'cos is was *awful*. Apart from the robots.]

1. The Artist *****

2. The Darkest Hour ****(-)

3. Haywire ****

4. Shame ****
5. Margin Call ***/****
6. Coriolanus Unable to classify/****

7. War Horse ***

8. The Grey ** (Grudging – at least one star is because it’s such snark-fodder)

9. The Descendants **** [+]
10. J. Edgar ****[-]

11. Martha, Marcy May, Marlene *****
12. Man On A Ledge ****[-]
13. Chronicle ****[-]

14. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol X

15. Underworld: Awakening X

16. A Dangerous Method **
17. Young Adult ****

18. The Woman In Black ***** / ****

19. Rampart ***
20. Black Gold **

21. Hunky Dory ***/****(-)

22. The Raven ****
23. Ghost Rider 2: Spirit Of Vengeance X

24. Cleanskin **
25. This Means War ****

26. Trishna **
27. John Carter (Of Mars. Godammit.) ***

28. In Darkness ***/***(+)
29. Bel Ami ***/****

30. Safe House ***(+)/***
31. Contraband ****
32. Wild Bill ****(+)

33. Headhunters / Hodejegerne ****(+)
34. This Must Be The Place ****
35. The Hunger Games ****(-)

36. Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists ****(-)
37. Wrath Of The Titans **

38. Mirror Mirror ****(+)
39. The Cabin In The Woods ****(+)/*****

40. Battleship X

41. Avengers Assemble *****
42. Lockout (a.k.a. Escape from Space) X

[The Cabin In The Woods]

43. Albert Nobbs ****

44. Damsels In Distress *

45. Salmon Fishing In The Yemen ****[-]

46. Silent House */unclassifiable due to being a mix of * and *****
47. Avengers Assemble. Again. In 3D this time. Still *****

48. Jeff, Who Lives At Home ****[-]/****[+]

49. Cafe De Flore *****/****[+]

50. Piranha 3DD X

51. Safe ****

52. Moonrise Kingdom **/?
53. The Raid X
54. Dark Shadows ***[-]/**

55. Snow White & The Huntsman **
56. Prometheus **

[Avengers Assemble ***** (still)]
57. Men In Black 3 ***[+]

58. Ill Manors ****[-]
59. The Plague Of The Zombies X

60. A Fantastic Fear Of Everything **
61. Red Tails **

62. A Royal Affair ***[-]
63. Red Lights **[-]

64. Cosmopolis 0
65. Jaws ****/*****

66. The Five Year Engagement ****
67. Angels’ Share ****

68. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter X

69. Quatermass & The Pit ****

70. Your Sister’s Sister ****

71. Killer Joe ****
72. The Amazing Spider-man **
73. Storage 24 ****

[The Chernobyl Diaries **]

74. Batman Begins ****
75. The Dark Knight ****/*****

76. The Hunter ****
77. Detachment ****

78. The Dark Knight Rises ****

79. Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World ****/*****

80. Magic Mike **

81. Brave PPP / PPPPP

82. Brave As Above!
83. The Bourne Legacy **

84. Total Recall **/***[-]
85. Shadowdancer ****/****[+]

86. The Impostor **/****

87. Dredd ***/***[-]
88. Lawless **/****

89. The Sweeney *
90. Premium Rush ****

91. Anna Karenina ****[+]/*****

92. Hysteria ****

93. Savages **
94. Killing Them Softly ***

95. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower ***/****
96. Paranorman ***
97. Resident Evil 5: Retribution X
98. Barbara ****

99. Ruby Sparks *****
100. Looper ****

101. Taken 2 **
102. Ginger & Rosa 0

103. Frankenweenie ****
104. Beasts Of The Southern Wild ****[+]

105. For A Good Time Call ****

106. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted 7/10 – one of those films that falls into the hole where ***is too harsh and **** too generous.
107. People Like Us 7/10 – one of those films that falls into the hole where ***is too harsh and **** too generous.

108. Love Bite X (would have been **** but it did a four-star job of being a film that was only ever supposed to be an X)
109. The Sapphires 7/10 – one of those films that falls into the hole where ***is too harsh and **** too generous.

110. My Brother the Devil ****/****[-]

111. Rust & Bone ****

112. Mental *****

113. Lawrence Of Arabia *****

114. Gambit **
115. The Master **[-]

[The Hunt – not numbered, because we both decided it wasn’t for us]
116. Sightseers ****

117. End Of Watch ****

118. Argo ****

119. Gremlins *****
120. The Man With The Iron Fists X (4 or 5 stars worth of X – but it was an X it was aiming for.)

121. The Oranges ****/*****

122. Silver Linings Playbook ****/*****
123. Skyfall ***/***[+]

124. Seven Psychopaths *****
125. Rise of the Guardians ****
126. Crime d’Amour ****/*****

1. Avatar ****

2. Daybreakers ****
3. Sherlock Holmes ****
4. The Road **(-)
5. Book Of Eli X

6. Ponyo ****

7. Solomon Kane X
8. The Wolfman ****

9. The Lovely Bones ****

10. Percy Jackson ***/**** (mild and entirely amicable reviewers’ disagreement)

11. Ondine ***** [upgraded 18/11]
12. Hurt Locker ** (0 for script and concept but ***** for visual and technical skill)

13. Alice X / unable to classify

[14. Exit Through The Gift Shop ****]

15. The Crazies ****
16. Legion X. OMFG, X!!!

[17. Shutter Island **]
[18. Case 39 *** (Mostly for the very nice final edit of some seriously ropey maerial]

19. Män som hatar kvinnor ****
20. I Love You, Phillip Morris ****

21. Kick-Ass *****
22. Repo Men ****

23. How To Train Your Dragon ****

24. Centurion ***
25. Clash Of The Titans ***

26. The Joneses ***/**** (another mild and entirely amicable reviewers’ disagreement)

27. The Disappearance Of Alice Creed ***** (Oh yes indeed!)

28. Four Lions *****

29. Kick-Ass – again! Still *****
30. Iron Man 2 ***( )

31. Prince Of Persia **/***
32. Robin Hood **/*** (Edited from ***/**** 5/6/12)

33. Bad Lieutenant ****

34. The Losers ****
35. [.rec]2 ****

36. The Killer Inside Me *****
37. The Black Death (unfortunately) *

[38. The Collector 0]

39. Shrek Ever After ****
40. Toy Story 3 PPP [****]

41. Splice X Most certainly an X; there are very few films that are more of an X

42. Inception *****/****
43. L’Illusionniste *****
44. Avatar: The Last Airbender ***
45. The A-Team ****
46. The Expendables ***
47. Scott Pilgrim vs The World *****

48. Piranha 3D X

49. Avatar (Extended version) **** (unchanged, but definitely improved by the re-edit)
50. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice ***

{Metropolis At the GFT – 2010 version. Grading determined to be n/a on grounds of differing tastes, aesthetics and dramatic conventions over time}

51. Tamara Drewe ****
52. Salt ****

53. Devil ****

[54. Inception *****]
[55. The Last Exorcism *** (Lost a full star for the ending. Oh gods, the ending.]

56. Buried *****
57. Resident Evil: Afterlife X

58. Legend Of The Guardians **** (as an average of 6-star visuals and rather-less-than-6-star-storytelling)

59. Burke & Hare ****/*****
60. The Social Network *****
61. RED ****

62. The Kids Are All Right *****

63. We Are What We Are / Somos Lo Que Hay *

64. Skyline ***
65. Paranormal Activity 2 ****

66. Unstoppable ****
67. The American ****/***

68. Rare Exports *****
69. Monsters ****/*****

70. The Way Of The Warrior ****(-)
71. The Voyage Of The Dawntreader **(-)
72. Machete *****

73. The Tourist ***(+)

Jan:
1. Aliens Vs Predator – Requiem *
2. No Country For Old Men *****
3. Sweeney Todd-The Demon Barber Of Fleet St *****
4. I Am Legend 0 (God’s ^*%&^(%%^+”£ suicide bomber!!!)

Feb:
5. Cloverfield *****
6. Jumper **

Mar:
7. Diary Of The Dead *****
8. Vantage Point ****
9. 10,000 B.C X
10. Cottage, The ****
11. [Orphanage, The] *****
12. Spiderwick Chronicles ***(+)

Apr:
13. [rec] *****

May:
14. Iron Man ****
15. Doomsday ***
16. Speed Racer ****
17. Outpost *****
18. Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull *

Jun:
19. Mongol – The Rise To Power Of Genghis Khan ***
20. Happening, The *****
21. Incredible Hulk, The ****
22. Teeth *****
23. Wanted X
24. Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The **
25. Female Agents ***

Jul:
26. Kung Fu Panda ****
27. [Mist, The] ****
28. Journey To The Centre Of The Earth *
29. W.A.L.L.-E PPPPP
30. Dark Knight, The ****(+)

Aug:
31. Star Wars: The Clone Wars *
32. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army ****
33. Babylon A.D. ***

Sept:
34. Death Race **
35. Taken ****

Oct:
36. Igor ***(+)
37. Quantum Of Solace *****

Nov:
38. Warlords, The ***
39. Baader-Meinhof Complex, The ****

Dec:
40. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa ***(+)
41. Day The Earth Stood Still, The **

So. Mostly here is where I put reviews of films - I have an 18 screen cinema nearby that doesn't balk at small and/or non-English language productions so I go to the cinema a *lot*.

I've been working on an intro post since I saw the phrase that I magpie'd for my title - but it's being slow going. Apparently, talking about myself doesn't come naturally. Well, who knew?!

Cinema visit: Never Let Me Go

( Thoughtful, character-based, dystopic SF, you say? )

I've not been posting as much on here lately, mostly because I've been busy but also because the writing habit is taking off elsewhere from here. However, I'm back again for a while because I'm slipping again; I've been writing my reviews but never actually getting around to posting them. Must try harder!

Eastercon was a *silly* amount of fun - lots of catching up with old friends and also making new ones. I ended up at some excellent panels, and only one that I didn't enjoy which is an *amazing* hit rate! And I'm making plans for next year already, I have to say.

I might try to put together a more substantive review at some point - but for the moment I'm going to go with "had fun and when can I do it again?!"