So this whole “Posting My Week in Movies posts on a Friday” thing isn’t really working out so well, is it? Turns out in the past I could always use the weekend as prep time for the post, and fine tune it on a Monday, but now my weeks are so jammed with all the other nonsense in my life (y’know, superfluous stuff like the dog, cooking dinner, going to work, all that garbage) I don’t seem to find the time during the week. Then Friday night rolls around and all I want to do is collapse face down into a pile of the nearest thing that won’t impale me when I fall on it, until Sunday rolls around and I’ve still not written this damn thing. And I still want to write it! I love writing these posts, I’d just love to have one hour a week where the only thing I can possible do is write about the films I’ve seen and the random bullshit I’ve done with my time.

Also, it’s the end of the month tomorrow, which means the end of a set of targets. As it stands I’ve watched everything necessary to tick off everything in February, I just don’t have the reviews to back that statement up. I’ve got seven films still to review, and 28 hours in which to review them to meet the deadline. If that happens, and that’s a very unlikely “if”, then it’d be almost unfair on the films I’m reviewing to have them all squashed up and sharing a day, so instead I’ll face up to not meeting this month’s writing challenges on time, and will instead dole out the reviews daily until I’m caught up that way. Hey, it’s my blog, they’re my deadlines, I can change them as I choose.

Oh, and the Oscars? You know, the ones that are starting in a few hours? Yeah, I’m not watching them. I’ve got a meeting in the morning and am choosing to sleep rather than watch a bunch of films I haven’t seen winning awards I don’t ultimately care about. I’ve got very few horses in this race, and the ones I truly want to win (The Martian, Matt Damon, Mark Rylance, Jennifer Jason Leigh, George Miller) probably wont, so I’ll catch up on Chris Rock’s best bits online tomorrow and move on with my life. Speaking of my life, here’s what I’ve watched in this past week-and-a-bit:

Deadpool (2016)

I’ve got no connection to the character of Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson, the wise-cracking mercenary with healing abilities and a scarred visage, out for vengeance upon the guy who butchered his face, other than the awesome-then-atrocious depiction of him in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, plus I didn’t pay too much attention to the trailers and marketing leading up to this, I just heard it was good so went to see it. Turns out what I’d heard was correct, and this was a really fun movie, and Ryan Reynolds is perfectly cast as the guy who can justifiably talk smack about everyone else, because he can kick their arse about it. The script is full of entertaining and innovative one-liners (my favourites being “shit-spackled muppet fart” and “wheezing bag of dick-tips”), not-at-all family-friendly asides and just a whole bunch of entertainment value. Sure the villains aren’t all that special, but with a protagonist as fun as Deadpool, he just needs someone to bounce off, and that he has. I look forward to seeing where this goes in the future.
Lists: 2016 Movies
Choose Film 8/10

The Big Short (2015)

My last chance to get in a Best Picture nominee before last weekend’s Oscar Predictions Lambcast saw me seeing the only one that was left available to me, The Big Short. It’s not a film I had a great interest in seeing at the cinema, but I went anyway and found it suitably smart and entertaining, if not an absolute essential. The performances are all terrific, and I think Christian Bale deserves his Best Supporting Actor nomination but doesn’t quite deserve to win (I think that should go to Mark Rylance, who does just as much as Bale but with far less to work with in Bridge of Spies). Also, the film’s ability to make something as complex as the financial crisis seem understandable to someone who just kind of watched it pass by should be highly commended. Also, my double-bill of this and Deadpool makes me think that every film I see will have an actor named Ryan talking directly to the camera.
Lists: 2016 Movies
Choose Film 7/10

Modern Times (1936)

The final part of my recent Chaplin kick.
Lists: 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, Empire’s 5-Star 500
Full review coming soon.

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

My Blind Spot pick for February, fitted perfectly into this month as it’s Black History month and also Oscar month.
Lists: 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, Blind Spot Movies
Full review here.

Juliet of the Spirits (1965)

This month’s “Bad” movie proved to be just that.
Lists: 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, “Bad” Movies,
Full review coming soon.

The Blob (1958)

Of all the movies I’ve got to see, and all the podcasts I’ve got saved to listen to, somehow I have three podcasts waiting all devoted to this. Now I’ve seen its ridiculousness, I can get to those shows.
Lists: Steve McQueen Movies
Full review coming soon.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Pulp Fiction‘s Friday night viewing broke a couple of cherries. Firstly my partner Aisha had never seen it before (to her it wasn’t as good as Inglourious Basterds but still wasn’t bad, although her phone remained in her hand for much of the first half) and it was also the first film we watched on our new sofas. Speaking of which, anybody want an old sofa set?
Lists: 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, Empire’s 5-Star 500, Empire’s Top 500, Empire’s Top 301, Total Film’s Top 100, Quentin Tarantino Movies
Full review coming soon.

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)

I’m still trying to watch a bunch of female-directed movies before the upcoming Female Directed Movies Draft Lambcast. I doubt this’ll get picked (it was directed by Lotte Reiniger) but it was still interesting watching this early an animated film.
Lists: 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Full review coming soon.

Posts you may have missed:
Inglourious Basterds
In The Heat Of The Night
The Revenant
Fantasy Film Casting #2: Armageddon: I joined Darren Lucas for the second episode of his new podcast, in which we set out to recast Michael Bay’s Armageddon as if it were being made today.
Lambcast #309 2016 Oscar Predictions: I was joined by JD Duran, Pete Conway and Daniel Lackey to discuss this year’s Oscar nominees and who we think is going to win this Sunday.

Goals Update
Aim: Review 8 or 9 1001 List movies each month
Reviewed: 10
Should be on: 15
On Track: No!

Aim: Review 1 “Bad” movie each month
Reviewed: 1
Should be on: 2
On Track: No!

Aim: Review 1 “Blind Spot” movie each month
Reviewed: 2
Should be on: 2
On Track: Yes!

Aim: Review 2 “Film-Makers” movies each month
Reviewed: 3
Should be on: 4
On Track: No!