Film 162: STEP BROTHERS (2008)

This was an ok film which featured very American lad comedy with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. I did enjoy it though and thought that the narrative was very well constructed but it isn't an absolutely amazing with Oscar winning performances. It's good but not great!

Film #161: THE WAY, WAY BACK (2013)

I loved this film. It was such an amazing feel good film. It was very well written as well with a beautiful story of a teenage guy trying to deal with everything when he goes on holiday with his mum and his mum's boyfriend and daughter but finding a haven at the water theme park. I did think the ending should have ended differently. *Spoiler alert* It should have had the mum and Duncan running out of the car at the end and going back to the live with Alison Janney, that would have been a happier ending then what was given. But overall I did love this film, it was kind of a teenage equivalent of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Film #160: THE SHINING (1980)

What a film?! I absolutely loved this film and thought it so lived up to its reputation. It's a brilliant story anyway, based on the Stephen King novel. And Jack Nicholson was stunning in this performance and I was completely mesmerised by his acting. It is a perfect film and is definitely one that everyone should watch at some point in their life!

Film #159: BLADES OF GLORY (2007)

I really loved this film, it's totally ridiculous but it's super funny. I loved the innuendo humour that is present throughout. Also it is brilliant as it looks at a same sex couple entering a skating competition and how the dynamic might work. I thought that Amy Poehler was super funny and is a fantastic comedian actress. This is a fantastic film to watch with friends.

Film #158: BEDTIME STORIES (2008)

This is a cute film about the stories that a father (Adam Sandler) tells his children then come to life with them placed in the middle of the drama. I liked the narrative of the film and there was some very funny moments. Obviously this is a children's film but it is very well written and constructed.

Film #157: STEPMOM (1998)

This was a really good film that I had never heard of until I saw it. It has the brilliance of Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon in it. It's based on a terminally ill woman (Sarandon) trying to get on with her ex-husbands new partner (Robers) who will become her children's new stepmother. I really liked this plot as it showed a real life situation as more families are experiencing divorce. It was a good watch definitely.

Film #156: STRUCK BY LIGHTNING (2012)

This was a very good small production film written by a very talented writer named Chris Colfer, who also stars in this film. I really liked the narrative and the idea behind the story. I also thought that it was very well made for a small production film but for me the acting was the part that really let it down. Chris Colfer was really good but he needs to stop doing roles of him being a teenager as he so doesn't look eighteen anymore. But it is a nice film overall.

Film #155: IT'S COMPLICATED (2009)

I liked that the normalised people older than twenty getting into relationships. I thought that Meryl Streep was brilliant as always and that Alec Baldwin gave a surprisingly good performance, as did Steve Martin
. But the film lacked any real perfection to making it revolutionary or award winning. It was a nice watch though.

Film #154: SHALL WE DANCE? (2004)

This has to be one of the few good films that Jennifer Lopez has done as an actress, that and Monster-in-Law. I really loved this film. It's such a feel good film with a star studded cast of Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci. Its about Richard Gere's character John Clark learning to dance with the assistance of Jennifer Lopez's character Paulina. It's a wonderful about how it's never too late to change your life around and make new friends and learn new skills. I did love this film so very much.

Film #153: THE OTHER GUYS (2010)

This was a bad but good film. The humour in it was really good and it was quite a good story about underdog police detectives trying to get a break through in their career. However I think there was too much time spent on them in the office at their computers and of them getting to know each other as appose to them actually fighting the bad guys and solving the case at hand. But it was a good film to watch with friends, it doesn't require a lot of concentration and has lots of genre conventions rolled into it so everyone will enjoy it. 

Film #152: TRAINSPOTTING (1996)

I loved this film. It was beautifully shot with the moments of them taking drugs. It definitely was weird but the acting of Ewan McGregor was brilliant and I loved the idea of being stuck in an endless circle of addiction that is broken through completely being engrossed in the addiction itself.

Film #151: MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY (2008)

I loved this film. It was lovely and simple about a woman being given the chance to live how the other half live. She went from living on the street to being employed in numerous occupations and attending highly formal and large events of the social calender. It shows the transformation of her as a woman and the opportunities that she then gets from meeting the right people.

Film #150: AUGUST RUSH (2007)

This is unbelievable but beautiful, it's the story of how a passion for something is what can drive a person to true happiness. And that it doesn't matter where a person is from or the background they have anyone can achieve their dreams. I really liked this story and I think that Freddie Highmore was absolutely perfect for this role and his acting skills have really improved since Finding Neverland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Film #149: GRAVITY (2013)

I know there was a lot of excitement around this film but I didn't enjoy it that much. It was just one narrative repeated over and over and over again of matter flying through space and destroying the station that Sandra Bullock and George Clooney needed in order to survive. The visual affects were great but it had series conventional gender roles of Sandra Bullock being a damsel in distress who needed a strong man to save her. Seriously her character was so whinny and panicky and then they had George Clooney acting as if that sort of thing happens every day. 

Film #148: DECODING ANNIE PARKER (2013)

I really loved this film. It was so powering and really moving. It's about a woman called Annie Parker (Samantha Morton) who gets breast cancer and becomes obsessed with trying to find out what caused her cancer and why she contracted it. Also at the same time there is the story of scientist Mary-Claire King (Helen Hunt) discovering how cancer is hereditary. And wonderfully this is based on a true story, so please check this film out.

Film #147: LETTERS TO JULIET (2010)

This was a stupid film and was just another meaningless romcom that was not needed in today's film industry. I seriously despise films like this. If a romcom is done well then it is beautiful and amazing and heart warming but also wonderfully funny and entertaining but this was just cheap and pathetic.

Film #146: NOTTING HILL (1999)

This was a classic Richard Curtis film with a very conventional romcom narrative, I did really liked it. The humour in it was genius and was beautifully shot and very well acted by Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. Like I said these reviews are going to be a lot shorter as I am so short of time now and (like I said) have started university so don't have a lot of free time at the moment.

Film #145: WILD TARGET (2010)

I really loved this film. It was very well cast and was super imaginative. I loved Bill Nighy in it as well as Emily Blunt and Rupert Grint. It was a brilliantly constructed action comedy film. This is a really hard genre to get right but they did it extremely well.

Film #144: CHALET GIRL (2011)

This is a typical Romeo and Juliet narrative of a girl and a guy from two different and conflicting backgrounds falling in love. I didn't mind this film there were some really funny moments in it. Also it had Bill Nighy in which made it so much better!

Film #143: GIRL MOST LIKELY (2012)

Two reasons for this film being fantastic. Number one: Darren Criss. Number two: Plot Twist. It was a shit and predictable plot where Kriten Wigg plays another middle aged woman who's lost control of her life and her desires but instead of solving them she basically gains a toyboy with Darren Criss. I mean, no one would turn down Darren Criss as a toyboy but it was slightly unrealistic. Well, it was very unrealistic. It was a bit rubbish but it had its moments of being funny.

Film #142: JOHNNY ENGLISH (2003)

This is one of those strange occurrences where I have seen the sequel but not the first film so I watched it and loved it. Rowan Atkinson is a wonderful actor. I loved this film for its ridiculousness. It's quite physical and slapstick comedy with cheesy puns but it is very well constructed and conventional which makes it brilliant.

Film #141: DECK THE HALLS (2006)

I really like this film. Again it's Christmas based but I loved it. This film follows a neighborhood as a new family moves in which consists of Danny DeVito, Kristin Chenoweth and their children. Once they arrive DeVito and his neighbour Matthew Broderick automatically turn against each other and constantly compete against one another. This feud continues as DeVito then plans to make the Christmas lights on his house bright enough to be seen from space. It's a stupid heart warming film with lots of cheese.

Film #140: DARK SHADOWS (2012)

This was a charming Tim Burton film about a vampire waking up in the 20th century after being buried alive in the 18th century. It then follows how he copes with the new everyday lives of people as he stays with a family who are his descendants. I liked it but I know that it received lots of criticisms from other reviews. It is unlike any other Tim Burton film. I know this gets said a lot as none of Burton's films are similar but this is a chip of the block for the Burton film collection.

Film #139: GOOD MORNING VIETNAM (1987)

This was an absolutely stunning film. I honestly cannot believe I have never seen this film before. Robin Williams (RIP) was phenomenal and completely moved the films direction. He was able to make it a comedy then a drama then a heart warming film that made you fuzzy inside. The film follows Williams' character going to Vietnam to host a radio show for all the people serving in the army. He is used to uplift their spirits with his comedy and talented voice. But the longer he stays the more involved he becomes in everything surrounding him.
 This has to be my favourite Robin Williams film now, except Aladdin of course. Everyone should watch this film at least ten times in their lifetime. Gooooood Morning Vietnam!!!!

Film #138: FIRST NIGHT (2010)

This film is horrible. It's an opera based comedy, which are two things which should never ever go together in a film. It just doesn't work and the film flops. I literally have nothing more to say other than don't watch it.

Film #137: FOUR CHRISTMASES (2008)

I know it's early to be watching Christmas films but I am a child and I love Christmas so deal with this. This film was stupid but there were some really good and funny moments which did make it a good watch. The principle of the film was a little naff but overall it was quite heart warming. However it does not compete with the likes of Love Actually and The Santa Claus films as far as Christmas films go. This film follows a couple who always go away for Christmas but when they're televised for being stranded in an airport and having to cancel their flights their families see and invite them over for Christmas, which is the reason they always go away for the holiday.

So basically I just started university (it's very exciting) so I don't have a lot of time on my hands and I have loads of reviews to write up so they're going to be shorter now so I can finish on time. I am still determined to do this!!

Film #136: INKHEART (2008)

I didn't really like this film it was a bit dry. I liked the idea but it got boring at points or became too ridiculous. I think that this is one of those films that should have stayed as a book. It's a fantasy film about a girl who discovers her fathers talent to bring characters out from their books and they have to stop a freed villain from being evil and destroying everything. It just felt like the Golden Compass film and shouldn't have been made. Or should have been made a few year in the future when the quality of which it is written could have been improved.

Film 135: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)

This was again a really good film. It was very well constructed and well written. I also loved Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. My only problem was that at times throughout the film you couldn't really hear what Bane was saying through his mask which made him less scary or fearing as I just couldn't understand his evil remarks. But it was a good plot and as well was really good for showing the moral side of every superhuman between good and evil. It is a good action filled film with a brilliant plot twist!

Film #134: THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)

I really liked this film, I think the Batman franchise is overused and that DC need to invest in making other films for their characters. The world needs a Wonder Woman film! But this was really good. There was a good plot filled with a good and clear plot. It stars Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. It is really star studded but all these actors are brilliant and deliver their parts extremely well. I especially loved Michael Caine as Alfred, I thought he nailed the part. So yeah, it is a really good watch.

Film #133: GHOSTBUSTERS 2 (1989)

If you liked the Ghostbusters then this will rock your world. I loved it even though I normally believe that sequels to films are often terrible but this was still as witty and terribly funny as the first one. As well it was just as much of a classic as the first with some brilliant acting from Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver and Ernie Hudson. It was a very clever plot but it did also have the extreme factor about it but I that’s what made the first one so brilliant.

Film #132: THE LADYKILLERS (2004)

I really liked this film. The plot was stupid but was so funny. It stars my love, Tom Hanks, as well as Ryan Hurst, J.K. Simmons and many others. The plot follows a group of people including Tom Hanks who trick an old woman into staying in her basement in order to tunnel through to the casino safe that she lives next to. It was charmingly different with a phenomenal performance by Tom Hanks who completely became his character. Also this film offers the moral side of criminal offences through the highly religious lady who’s house they stay in. This is a very strange film which I don’t think would be liked by all people but I definitely enjoyed it and hope that more people will do as well.

Film #131: THE HOLIDAY (2006)

This is a chick flick that lots of people like, except me. I really didn’t like it and don’t understand why people think that this film is so wonderful. It’s so cheesy and really not realistic in any way. It’s about two women, Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, who house swap for their holidays and find love with Jack Black and Jude Law. Like I said cheesy and predictable. For me I don’t understand why Jude Law would do this film as he is an outstanding actor who doesn’t need films like this one which has about 1% of decent acting beside Law in it. Harsh I know but it really was appalling. 

Film #130: THE BUTLER (2013)

I honestly loved this film. It was so beautiful and well made. I thought that it was very well constructed as it wasn’t so long that it got boring but was still long enough to get a life time of a person condensed down with the most important parts in it. This was very important as it showed everyday moments of the family which made you become more aware of their dynamics and able to gain an opinion on each character. Furthermore this meant that when it came to the more emotional moments of the film you became attached to the characters and felt your heart break for them. It’s the story of a man who serves in the White House as a butler over eight presidents worth. I thought that this film so deserved all the awards it was nominated for and won. It starred Forest Whitaker and Opera Winfrey as well as many other big names such as Robin Williams (RIP), Jane Fonda, Alan Rickman, as well as many others. It truly is worth watching if you’re into more serious films.

Film #129: THE WEDDING PLANNER (2001)

Ok so this film was horrible and predictable and Jennifer Lope should not have ever been involved in such a terrible film. I fear that more people may watch this film. It’s based around Jennifer Lopez being a wedding planner who gets a job organising a wedding for a couple. She then falls in love with the groom in the wedding but knows she can never act on her feelings as he’s obviously engaged. And I think you can guess the rest of the plot. This film also stars Matthew McConaughey with a bad haircut. The best way to describe this film is it is very 1990’s style even though it was made on the 90’s/00’s border.

Film #128: THE LOVE PUNCH (2013)

This is a very strange film; it is so not what I thought it would be like. I expected a traditional rom-com film showing the relationship between Emma Thompson and Pierce Brosnan with the comedy brought from their quirky friends Celia Imrie and Timothy Spall. It was this but also so much more. There was a special narrative brought through the action side of this film. It contained a beautiful plot of the four friends trying to steal some diamonds from a man who took over Brosnan’s work company and who got rid of their pensions. Basically. It is as brilliantly charming as it is heart warmingly funny. I do salute these actors for taking on this film as it was a pleasant surprise of a film.

Film #127: SHE'S ALL THAT (1999)

This was such a bad film that it then became good. In a strange way I liked this film because of it's cheesy American plot that was cringe-worthy of its badness. It stars Freddie Prinze, Jr and Rachael Leigh Cook and is the story of how the most popular guy in school bets his friends that he can make this outcast girl who's into art become prom queen. But he never anticipates falling in love with her. Blah blah blah. It was terrible but brilliant at the same time.

Film #126: CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 (2013)

Ok, I decided to watch the second film pretty much after just finishing the first and I wasn't disappointed. I really loved the second one for the main reason that it started off pretty much at the exact point where the first one ended; which is something you don't often see in films. I also loved the same humour was present and that the film hadn't lost anything from the first that made it so wonderful. I now loved in this film that the food is beginning to really get personality which was fun to watch for myself and my family who were watching it with me at the time. This is another good watch.

Film #125: CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (2009)

This was such a lovely and simple idea of being able to turn the weather to food and I loved it. Food is great. Food is wonderful and this film was just that also. I loved the humour which was for the adults as well as the children. And I loved the characters as all of them had something to give to the film. It was completely different from all other animated children's film these days and I think this film should have more celebration to it.

Film #124: EVER AFTER (1998)

This was a very traditional take on the Cinderella tale but what was nice was that the Cinderella character Danielle (Drew Barrymore) was a smart and confident person as appose to the norm of these types of films where they are hopeless damsels in depresses. It also had strong moments of humour and very good pace to the film which was lovely to see. But at the same time this film was also still the same old tale with nothing new or exciting to it.

Film #123: TURBO (2013)

This was another children's film which was really quite good but bad. It was a stupid plot line, people don't actually race snails. But I loved the moments of humour and I loved the other snails as well, they all had something that you can take away or a personality that you can fall in love with. Although at the same time, as I write this I am realising that this is actually just the plot of Disney Pixar's Cars but with snails instead of cars. So if you liked that then this film will definitely be for you.

Film #122: BLUE HAWAII (1961)

This is one of the many films that Elvis Presley did and I surprisingly enjoyed it. It had a strange feel to it as he was such an extraordinary person but this film was really lovely and funny to watch. I loved the bar scene with the really dramatic and old style bar fight. It was amusing to me now as at the time most of the fight scenes would have looked something like that and it be the norm of filming.

Film #121: BELIEVE (2013)

This was such a shit film. It was basically a remake of Billy Elliot except they didn't break the social/conventional norm of having Billy want to do something against his gender stereotype (ballet) they had their version of Billy want to do football. It was stupid and shouldn't have been made. To those families who have made their children watch it they should have just given them a copy of Billy Elliot as it was better as a whole in how it was filmed, written, acted, everything. I know this was based on a true story but I don't think this is a story that needed to be told, harsh I know but it was predictable. I really didn't see the point in making Believe. Please just watch Billy Elliot. Or if you want a film about football watch Bend it like Beckham. 

Film #120: ABOUT A BOY (2002)

This was a beautiful film about a boy (haha funny that's the title) and how people can save each other when they're lonely and need help. It's about how a small boy called Marcus (Nicolas Halt) becomes friends with a man named Will (Hugh Grant). Will is a man with lots of money after his father had a number one selling Christmas song and so does nothing but live off from that money, he has no family and sleeps around with different women using different pick up lines and stories in order to get them into bed. When Marcus comes along he is just another person he can use as a pick up story saying that Marcus is his son. But Marcus sees Will as a friend and an escape as his mother Fiona (Toni Collette) suffers from depression and is full of hippy believes and values for her family's way of life. It's a beautiful story of how they all work together to try and make their lives better and what one boy won't do for the love of his mother and his friend. I truly loved this film!

Film #119: ONE CHANCE (2013)

This is the film based on the life of Britain's Got Talent winner Paul Potts staring James Corden as Potts. I did enjoy this film it was unbelievable the amount of life defining moments that Potts had and how well he managed to overcome them. Such as being heavily bullied when growing up, trying to get into Opera school in Rome, finding true love, loosing his voice at one point for a long period of time. It was a heart warming film to watch. The lip miming was poor but that wasn't necessary the actors fault as opera is a very difficult genre to sing and so miming is even more so. I do take my hat off to this film I enjoyed it very much.

Film #118: AUSTENLAND (2013)

This was a small romantic/feel good film. It was quite a nice film that was based around a house that people can visit to act like their living in the Austen books. It was another romantic mushy film but contained a few moments of genius, such as casting Jennifer Coolidge (better known as Stifler's mum in the American Pie films). Her character was so beautifully funny and wonderful. But other than that it was an ok film.

Film #117: JURASSIC PARK (1993)

This was a Steven Spielberg classic film that just regained my faith in what films can be like. The idea.The plot. The acting. Everything was brilliant. For the few people that don't know what the film is about, it is based on the idea of humans being able to grow dinosaurs from DNA found. They then make this park to keep the animals in and are planning to make it like a zoo for visitors to view the dinosaurs in and make lots of money. So as the park is close to opening up they invite a handful of guests to check it out first, there's scientists, the finance people, as well as a few others go around the park but disaster strikes when the animals escape their cages and they all have to fight for survival. I in particular loved Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm he was a wonderful character. He was the blunt honest kind which gave humour to the situation and lightened the mood of the film at parts.

Film #116: DEAR JOHN (2010)

I feel like I've watched loads of romantic films which really isn't like me, I don't overly like them which is probably noticeable from my reviews on here. I really didn't like this film. It was just so blah. There was nothing that really stood out for me like in The Notebook the kiss makes even the coldest of heart melt. But this film was just boring romantic mush. It's based around Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum's characters writing to each other after they fall in love one summer. It shows their different lives as Tatum's character is in the army and with Seyfried's character at college. But I just found it totally unrealistic of the events that occur in the film like falling in love so instantly and then basically changing their entire lives to be together when only knowing each other for such a short period of time.

Film #115: STARSKY AND HUTCH (2004)

I loved this film. It was so well filmed and was as funny and thrilling as the original from the 1970's. I surprisingly loved Snoop Dog's character Huggy Bear and thought that Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson nailed these roles. I thought the plot was clever and very witty and I was just impressed overall as to the result of the film. But I think this is really particular to the audience, I like real witty, immature and (well done) slapstick comedy which was delivered in this film, however I know that that is a very specific comedy type to have so if you do not find comedies like that funny then definitely do not watch this film.

Film #114: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (2011)

This was a good film but also slightly unbelievable. It's a (another) story about love. a forbidden love that overcomes all obstacles. All of you film fanatics out there reading this will realise that I just quoted Moulin Rouge (a brilliant film) and all of you who didn't then shame on you. I liked this film, it was based around Robert Pattinson's character Jacob and Reese Witherspoon's character Marlena falling in love. Both characters work for a travelling circus, Jacob as the circus vet and Marlena as a performer with elephants and other animals. It was beautifully shot and the costumes were spectacular. It was a good watch but very conventional of a romance film.

Film #113: ANY HUMAN HEART (2010)

Ok, this was a TV show but I'm counting this as a film as the episodes were an hour long each in this series so it every single episode felt like a film in itself. I kind of liked this but it was way too long. Its based on the life of a man called Logan Mountstuart and his life. Therefore there is numerous characters that play Logan, Jim Broadbent, Matthew Macfadyen and Sam Claflin. It shows his life growing up and going through numerous different life changing events that define his life. I did like the idea and the acting was beautiful so I did appreciate it in that sense but as terrible as it sounds my

problem with it was the length of the series itself.