Stalker - 1979, Tarkovsky.

A masterpiece. Profound, baffling, haunting, eerie, scary and all held in the visionary gaze of director and cinematographer.

10/10

Chained [2012]. Director: Jennifer Chambers Lynch

7/10

Serial killer yarn given a Lynchian touch (from the daughter of David Lynch).

*******
The Drop [2014]. Director: Michaël R. Roskam

7/10

One of those films with a big twist that most people wouldn't see coming. Tom Hardy does his Brooklyn accent. The last film of the great James Gandolfini.

Holiday inn. (5/5)

Murder in Coweta County - 1983 film starring Johnny Cash. Very good indeed.

Deepwater Horizon (2016) Real life disaster film, i did not understand much of what was happening on the rig but the film did keep my interest. A watchable 6/10.

Outlaw Women [1952]. Directors: Sam Newfield & Ron Ormond

5/10

B-western about a town run by women.

It's A Wonderful Life (1946) - 9/10

I Am Wrath - John Travolta's wife is murdered but Mr Travolta is no ordinary citizen - he's a Black Ops specialist with a particular set of skills etc etc. Very predictable nonsense that gave the impression that it was a script Steven Segal was too busy to do.
I kept getting the feeling Travolta reminded me of someone and then it struck me - in The Terminator there is a scene where a very obvious animatronic head is used instead of Arnie and that's what JT looked like in this movie.

The Haunting - I'd been putting off seeing the remake for years and am sorry I finally gave into temptation. Overdone CGI effects made it look more like Harry Potter without the kids than a scary horror flick.
The original Robert Wise version proves that less is more and a lot more terrifying.

Prometheus - If it's a flawed film, It's a damn entertaining one and a film I've unashamedly watched half a dozen times now. It's funny, It's only taken me until this viewing to appreciate how bogus the titular mission was ie hiring a desperate amateur crew, not informing them of the true aim. Explains half of the crew's amateurish decisions. A good alternative Christmas film, It's set on that day. Apparently Jesus Chris wasn't exactly who we thought he was...

9/10

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) - 8/10

Romper Stomper - Thought it was pretty good. Russell Crowe is impressive.

The Limits of Control (2009)

Art-house movie about an assassin travelling Europe, receiving coded instructions from one destination. to the next. and engaging in Zen philosophical discussions with the characters he meets along the way.

Bill Murray appears at the end!

Similar in style to Out (aka Deadly Drifter) with Danny Glover.

Great film if you enjoy art-house. - 8/10

The Polar Express (2004) - 8.5/10

Ironclad: Battle for Blood [2014]. Director: Jonathan English

5/10

A medieval romp, set on the English-Scottish border and filmed in Serbia.

We watched this tonight and thought it was very good. Well worth a watch for anyone with Sky Movies.

The Small One (1978) a Disney mini-classic

Delightful Christmas short. Watched it twice yesterday had a wee cry at the end both times Just lovely

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - More of a highlights reel of the book than anything else, albeit an enjoyable watch nonetheless as its the most action packed narrative. Most of the characters are therefore sidelined for action set pieces. This was originally considered to be split into two films.

7/10

Saving Mr Banks - Drama about the struggle to bring Marry Poppins onto the big screen. I didn't think I was going to be engaged by this film as I never cared for Mary Poppins but I was. Great performances all round from the cast and I cried at the end.

8/10

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - The weakest Harry Potter film. It shows that this was David Yates' first major blockbuster (thankfully he massively improves for the sequels). He's a character based director but unfortunately this film comes off as too televisual I guess due to his inexperience. It's meant to be a moody, angsty film but the acting unintentionally comes off as more awkward from the trio. Still I re-watch this film as part of the series for the sake of it...

6/10

David Brent: Life On The Road (2016) 2.5/10

I'm not a big fan of Ricky Gervais, but I did love The Office. But what a steaming pile of 💩 this movie is. I know we (the viewer) are supposed to look at the David Brent character as a cringeworthy jerk, but you still felt some sympathy for him. But he was just dreadful in this movie. Too many terrible moments to mention, but did Gervais really have to make Brent laugh nervously every 30 seconds? That was annoying as hell. If Gervais is to resurrect the Brent character again on screen, it needs to be a "The Office" reunion.

The Birth of a Nation (2016) 6/10

It! The Terror from beyond Space [1958]. Director: Edward L. Cahn

5/10

Alien beastie stows away on a spaceship and starts bumping off the crew. "Alien" did this so much better in 1979.

*******
Terror in a Texas Town [1958]. Director: Joseph H. Lewis

7/10

Western with Sterling Hayden as a Swedish whaler who inherits a farm from his murdered father and seeks revenge. Notable for the showdown between a gunman and Hayden with a harpoon.

*******
The Yellow Mountain [1954]. Director: Jesse Hibbs

5/10

Double dealing among gold miners in the old West starring Lex Barker, who had given up his 5 film stint as Tarzan the year before.

Zootropolis 7/10

I thought I was going to hate this but I was pleasantly surprised.

A Christmas Carol: the Alistair Sim version. Watched it this afternoon, yet again. An unbetterable version of the story-except for Tiny Tim being a bit too old and large. Pure brilliance: 10/10

Sinbad of the Seven Seas [1989]. Director: Enzo G. Castellari

3/10

One of those films that so bad it's fun to watch.

*******

Lust for Life [1956]. Director: Vincente Minnelli

7/10

Kirk Douglas gives a passionate performance as Vincent van Gogh.

*******
Out of the Past (Build my Gallows High)[1947]. Director: Jacques Tourneur

8/10

Classic film noir with Robert Mitchum as an ex private eye and Jane Greer as the woman from his past. Kirk Douglas plays the baddie in this one.

*******
The Vatican Tapes [2015]. Director: Mark Neveldine

5/10

Silly exorcism yarn.

We've just watched Deadpool with Ryan Reynolds on Sky. It was very good, and quite funny just trying to pick up all the references to other movies scattered all the way through it. It was also quite an appropriate watch for the day as there were also a lot of references to George Micheal, Wham and Careless Whisper.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - Charmless sequel that aspires to be The Lord of the Rings but misses the mark.

3/10

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Funny how this film has grown on me over the years, for a while I couldn't see past what I saw as unforgivable deviations from the book. But it's an accomplished film, Yates' directing has stepped. At times a haunting film.

8/10

The Passion of the Christ - About the final hours of a certain biblical protagonist. A very gruesome film and I think an overall well made one at that. I wished they had made as much of an effort to hire a more ethnically appropriate cast as they did with trying to get the language right.

7/10

Arthur Christmas - Decent but forgettable animation by Aardman/Sony about Father Christmas' son trying to deliver a misplaced present.

Paddington - A fish out of water story about a Peruvian bear in London. Really charming film. They did a great job with the animation of Paddington.

8/10

How to Train Your Dragon 2 - More of the same dragon adventure. Parts of the universe remind me of Avatar.

7/10