Why This Is Hell

I suspect there has been something missing here, but I have been watching a lot of tv and things have been melding into one another...

So, especially because I know what is coming up in 2011 (having been there when I watched them), do we finish 2010 on a high?

CXX: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975)

Richard O'Brien's gender bending musical - with Hammer horror sets, now watchable with the opening in black and white - as interesting for its cast as anything else.

CXXI: The Abominable Dr. Phibes (Robert Fuest, 1971)
CXXII: The Incredible Melting Man (William Sachs, 1977)
CXXIII: Blackenstein (William A. Levey, 1973)
CXXIV: The Island of Dr. Moreau (Don Taylor, 1977)

So what is the ( finish the year on a high film? )

I haven't done this since October... I fear I've missed some out, but on the whole I've been watching tv - various Doctor Who serials "The Time Warrior", "The Sontaran Experiment", "The Deadly Assassin", "Masque Of Mandragora", "Frontier In Space", "Planet of the Daleks", "Destiny Of The Daleks", "The Hand Of Fear", "The Robots Of Death", "The Three Doctors" and "Planet of Evil".

Lots of gothic horror one there, and surely "The Deadly Assassin" is one of the poorest titles ever... as opposed to "The Friendly Assassin"? And how come the assassinated time lord doesn't regenerate?

I suspect I've seen more than this on tv, but have no notes on it.



( CV: The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979) )

( CVI: Teeth (Mitchell Lichtenstein, 2008) )

( CVII: Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987) )

( CVI: La Planète Sauvage ((The Savage Planet) Fantastic Planet, René Laloux, 1973) )

( CVIII: Otolith III (Otilith Group, 2009) )

( CIX: Rollerball (Norman Jewison, 1975) )

( CX: Death Race 2000 (Paul Bartel, 1975) )

( CXI: The Quatermass Conclusion (Piers Haggard, 1979) )

( CXII: Mad Max (George Miller, 1979) )

( CXIII: Time After Time (Nicholas Meyer, 1979) )

( CXIV: God Told Me To (Larry Cohen, 1976) )

( CXV: Capricorn One (Peter Hyam, 1978) )

( CXVI: The Omega Man (Boris Sagar, 1971) )

Oooh - briefer write ups than I intended.


( LXXXIX: The Spy Who Loved Me (Lewis Gilbert, 1977) )

( XC: Live and Let Die (Guy Hamilton, 1973) )

( XCI: The Man with the Golden Gun (Guy Hamilton, 1974) )

( XCII: Captain's Paradise (Robert Hamer, 1953) )

( XCIII: The Art of Being Straight (Jesse Rosen, 2008) )

( XCIV: Eating Out 3 - All You Can Eat (Glenn Gaylord, 2009) )

( XCV: Were the World Mine (Thomas Gustafson, 2008) )

Totals: 95 (Cinema: 20; DVD: 60; Video: 1; TV: 14)

Catch up, no doubt missing stuff:

LX: Slutty Summer (Casper Andrea, 2005) - dull gay indie
LXI: Shock to the System (Ron Oliver, 2006) - enjoyable crime TVM
LXII: 3-Day Weekend (Rob Williams, 2008) - away for the weekend in ski lodge comedy
LXIII: Mr Brooks (Bruce A. Evans, 2007) - Kevin Costner is highly recommended movie shock - as is Demi Moore. Go rent. Now.
LXIV: It's Alive (Larry Cohen, 1974) - baby horror
LXV: It Lives Again (Larry Cohen, 1978) - son of baby horror
LXVI: It's A Wonderful Afterlife (Gurinda Chada, 2010) - Ealing style comedy with Asian twist, the funniest bit being a pointless Carrie homage
LXVII: Four Lions (Chris Morris, 2010) - Ealing style comedy with Jihad twist, go see - although London looks rather like Sheffield
LXVIII: Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow, 2004) - the sort of film Tarantino tries but fails to make - barking but brilliant
LXIX: The Kid Stays in the Picture (Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen, 2002) - talking book, with pictures; Robert Evans's autobiography
LXX: Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo (Vincent McEveety, 1977) - VW falls in love and evades evil diamond thieves
LXXI: Herbie Rides Again (Robert Stevenson, 1974) - VW evades evil property development corporation
LXXII: Herbie Goes Bananas (Vincent McEveety, 1980) - VW evades evil archeologists

Totals: 72 (Cinema: 18; DVD: 43; TV: 11)

I've got a little behind, so short cuts basically. I've probably forgotten something.

( XLI: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977) )

( XLII: King Kong (John Guillermin, 1976) )

( XLIII: Dave Gorman's America Unchained (Andy Devonshire and Stef. Wagstaffe, 2004) )

( XLIV: O Lucky Malcolm (Jan Harlan, 2006) )

( XLV: Battle for the Planet of the Apes (J. Lee Thompson, 1973) )

( XLVI: Soya Cuba (I am Coooba, Mikhail Kalatozov, 1964) )

( XLVII: Män som hatar kvinnor (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Niels Arden Oplev, 2009) )

( XLVIII: Capitalism: A Love Story (Michael Moore, 2009) )

( XLIX: Winstanley (Kevin Brownlow, 1975) )

( L: Third Man Out (Ron Oliver, 2005) )

( LI: Last Holiday (Henry Cass, 1950) )

( LII: The Ghost (Roman Polanski, 2010) )

( LIII: Io sono l'amore (I Am Love, Luca Guadagnino, 2009) )


Totals: 53 (Cinema: 15; DVDs: 29; TV: 9)

( XXIX: Meteor (Ronald Neame, 1979) )


( XXX: Gumshoe (Stephen Frears, 1971) )

( XXXI: 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963) )


( XXXII: The Anderson Tapes (Sidney Lumet, 1971) )


( XXXIII: Superman (Richard Donner, 1978) )

( XXXIV: Flash Gordon (Mike Hodges, 1980) )

I'm holding back on A Single Man, because it needs a spoilery rave and rant.

I've been looking for the following for ages - there's a Wise director's cut, but I wanted the original release, the Star Trek trilogy box was films 2-4 and there was stupidly expensive boxset of the ten. Star Trek movies don't show up in CEX. But finally I found a cheaper complete films boxset on Amazon, and so I've got all the films should I wish to watch/rewatch them.

( XXXV: Star Trek: The Slow Motion Picture (Robert Wise, 1979) )

Totals: 35 (Cinema: 8; DVDs: 19; TV: 8)

It's slow work - I've been marking.


( X: Eyes of Laura Mars (Irvin Kershner, 1978) )

( XI: Pink String and Sealing Wax (Robert Hamer, 1946) )

( XII: Magnum Force (Ted Post, 1973) )

( XIII: The Enforcer (James Fargo, 1976) )

( XIV: The Red Shoes (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger, 1948) )

( XV: The Gauntlet (Clint Eastwood, 1977) )




Totals 15 (Cinema: 3; DVD: 6; Television: 6)

A slow start

( I: On Dangerous Ground (Nicholas Ray, 1952) )

( II: Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie, 2010) )

( III: Welt am Draht (Wolrd on Wires/World on a Wire, Maria Werner Fassbinder, 1973) )

( IV: Johnny Got His Gun (Dalton Trumbo, 1971) )

( V: Falsche Bewegung (Wrong Move, Wim Wenders, 1974) )


( VI: Up In the Air (Jason Reitman, 2009) )


Totals 6 (Cinema: 2; DVD: 2; Television: 2)