Seeing as how all my aims this year are monthly, it feels right to keep you updated with a monthly update of them all. So here we go with January:

Aim: Review 8 or 9 1001 List movies each month
Reviewed: 8
The Producers
The English Patient
The Hangover
Heaven and Earth Magic
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
The Breakfast Club
Successful?:Yes!

Aim: Review 1 “Bad” movie each month
Reviewed: 1
Heaven and Earth Magic
Successful?:Yes!

Aim: Review 1 “Blind Spot” movie each month
Reviewed: 1
The Producers
Successful?:Yes!

Aim: Review 2 “Film-Makers” movies each month
Reviewed: 2
The Hateful Eight (Quentin Tarantino)
A Little Chaos (Kate Winslet)
Successful?:Yes!

Aim: Read A New-To-Me Book
Reviewed: 3
Room (Emma Donoghue)
A Study in Scarlet (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Sign of the Four (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Successful?:Yes!

Aim: Visit Somewhere New
Visited: 2
Shenzhen, China
Hong Kong
Successful?:Yes!

So after a slow start to the reviews but some very rushed writing in the past couple of days, I’ve managed to stay afloat for month number one. Phew! It’s a good job I’m not counting 2016 movies this year, as so far I’m up to a grand total of one (The Hateful Eight) and judging by what’s to come for the rest of the year it’s not going to be a new record for me, I can say that for sure. Book-wise I thought I’d have read more on the trip to China, but the plane rides were spent watching films and hotel time was spent coping with the jetlag and being entertained by our suppliers, so all I could fit in was Room. I loved the book, it kept me hooked throughout and every time I had to put it down I longed to pick it back up again, but now I’ve read it I’m not all that bothered about seeing the film soon. It sounds like one that’ll hold up quite well on the small screen, so I’ll wait. You may also notice a couple of Sherlock Holmes novellas in the mix too. My partner gave me a collection of Holmes’ stories for Christmas, and I’m slowly working my way through them. So far I’m surprised as to how much time is spent seemingly condoning the criminals for their acts, providing well-reasoned explanations for the things they have done. This contrasts somewhat drastically to the Benedict Cumberbatch/Martin Freeman show, in which the villains are really rather psychopathic. Still, reading these stories really makes me want to re-watch the show, but I think I might save that for when I’ve read them all.

Come back next month to see if I’m still on track!