Maybe in the 80s. I think Doctor Who is a better reflection of modern British masculinity these days.

Actually Skyfall is exactly the thing you describe, so I agree with you. Search for my Skyfall review, you'll see what I mean.

I watched an old TV documentary today from 1973. The first part of a series called The Ascent of Man, hosted by Jacob Bronowski, a Polish-Jewish British mathematician, biologist, historian of science, theatre author, poet and inventor.

He talked about how man's cultural evolution and adaptability allowed him to spread and flourish during pre-history. It was called 'Lower Than The Angels'.

It was marvellous.


J. Bronowski died a year after making this.

113 The Tingler

3.5/5



A very fun horror movie, and I think in some shots, The Tingler looks pretty good (okay, in others, it looks terrible). I always liked the bath full of bright red blood right in the middle of a black and white movie, and laughed a little about the lengths someone went to within the movie to do that (I have the same problem with Les Diaboliques). Also, Vincent Price drops acid.

A fun, trippy movie.

114 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

3.5/5



Whilst not as good as the first movie, this is still pretty entertaining. Some of the side characters who had more depth in the first, and consigned to bit-parts only. It's helped by the great central performance by Zellwegger, who I don't think was ever better than as Bridget Jones. Hugh Grant is also marvellous as the bad boy character, and Firth is good in a very stuffy, stiff role (the role is right, that's what the character is).

Your enjoyment does hinge on how much you like Zellwegger as Jones though.

115 Beauty and the Beast

4/5



First Watch!

This was a pretty terrific and absorbing Disney, with some great songs/animation combos, and a more resonant story than you often get with Disney.

One downside is it did keep making me think of the far-superior La Belle et La Bete (and giving me an urge to watch that again), which it shares many elements of, but Disney-fied, of course. That's not a significant fault of this movie though, it does have enough charm of its own to stand up proud.

116 Aladdin

4.5/5



This is easily the second most funny Disney movie after The Emperor's New Groove, but it does feel a little dated with some of Robin Williams topical references - I think everyone will recognise Jack Nicholson for years to come, but maybe not Rodney Dangerfield and Scorcese-esque De Niro - but the really good turns from the incidental comedy characters such as Iago, Abu and the carpet keep it cracking along at an excellent pace. There's also some very creative ideas going on in the fast-paced sequences, such as the escape from the closing treasure-pit or the final fight.

Very enjoyable.

117 What Ever Happened To Baby Jane

4.5/5



Let's not mess about with twee titles like 'psychological drama', this is a horror film that sits squarely in the middle of a great American Gothic tradition. Bette Davis is scary as a mad, raddled, drink-savaged old lady, inflicting cruelties on her long-suffering, and seemingly kindly wheelchair-bound sister, played by Joan Crawford.

Crawford's terrified of her, and I'm one who thinks Crawford can be terrifying in almost everything else, which gives you a measure of how truly scary Davis's performance was.

As I watched, I really didn't think it would be able to deliver an ending suitably twisted and appropriate for this material, but in fact, the ending really is the cherry on the cake.

Yep, it's a horror film. Or rather, a Horror film.

118 Invaders from Mars

3.5/5



A pretty good, uncomplicated 50s paranoia/invasion/scifi action movie, with a kid spotting odd behaviour and marks, and manages to believe some adults of his fears. Has an odd section at the end of the first act where it turns into a lecture about the real truth behind UFOs, but once that's over, turns into a fairly fun, but completely on-the-rails military vs alien invaders story.

The whole movie has some really nice touches, like the use of slightly discordant choir chanting to indicate the alien behaviour, the repeating and quite distinctive shot of the path running alongside a wooden fence, leading to the peak of a hill, and I liked the little round headed alien leader/brain, but it also suffered from some poorly realised elements, such as the poor costuming/makeup of the 'mute-ants'.

Overall though, solid little 50s scifi.

119 Mark of the Vampire

3/5



This movie reinforces my view that Todd Browning was great at eerie and odd, but pretty terrible at conventional drama. He did it in Dracula, and he does that here. Only his 'Freaks' remains a pure masterpiece, because the conventional drama is completely soaked by the odd people, script and final act in that movie.

However, this film does fly when he's doing spooky/eerie. Lugosi and the woman playing his vampire daughter are terrific, and their scenes, filmed like a silent movie, really work well.

Otherwise the movie is pretty leaden when it's focussing on more conventional drama scenes.

The ending was fun.

120 Riddick (2013)

3.5/5



A stripped down Riddick, getting back to basics that works so well, as it did in Pitch Black and was sorely missing in The Chronicles of Riddick. The first half hour was pretty damn good and distinct, with very little dialogue, and a lot of fun watching Riddick surviving brutal conditions and get the measure of the planet he's been stranded on. It was like watching a decent movie version of the videogame Borderlands.

Eventually two sets of mercenaries/bounty hunters turn up to get him, and we get into territory that's part retread of Pitch Black, part retread of the first (good) part of Chronicles.

Enjoyable, mindless actioner.

You ever walk out of a movie that was wretched?
I would love to see detailed reviews of some of the classics. I feel like there's a certain set of movies that are just accepted great but very little analysis of what makes them stand out as the top 1% of all movies. Zulu, in particular, is one I would love to hear a detailed analysis of, as it left very little impression on me personally (maybe you already have a post or podcast that talks about this?).

Although Zulu is my favourite movie, I've not podcasted about it, or even written a detailed analysis. Here's some comments about it I've posted in the past:

121 - Shock Corridor

4/5



Crazy, fun exploitation flick about a reporter faking insanity to investigate a murder in an asylum, but then finding faking madness and being mad are kind of a bit too close to each other for comfort.

It also actually says things about America at the time it was made, including comments on racism, facing responsibility for one's actions (or not), and how being different can condemn you.

So sleazy in parts, and cheaply profound in others.

Best line comes when the hero finds himself in a women's ward: "NYMPHOS!"

122 Kick Ass

4/5



So coming to this rewatch, I thought now the media buzz is long gone and I can watch without that excitement, I'd enjoy it well enough, but it wouldn't be as much fun as the first time.

I was wrong. If anything, it was even more fun. This movie does kick ass. The introduction of Hit Girl is even funnier, Nick Cage channelling Adam West's Batman is more obvious (and funnier), and this time I didn't give two figs that it morphed from a look at people playing costumed heros into a superhero movie by the final act.

Gloriously and shamelessly hyperviolent, and its lack of shame is its greatest charm.

123. Destry Rides Again

4.5/5



Ridiculously good comedy Western from 1939, with James Stewart as the thoughtful Destry, and Marlene Dietrich showing you why she was such an inspiration for Lilly Von Schtupp in Blazing Saddles. A really well-written, excellently cast and funny oldschool comedy.

124. Hitchcock

2.5/5



Whilst we get great performances from Hopkins, Mirren and Johansen, the story is like a final stage heroin junkie - thin, unfocussed and more than a little frustrating at times. Whole sections seemed to be injected into the main narrative on the slimmest of pretexts, like Hitch interacting with Ed Gein, or scenes like Alma getting cross and going for a swim in the swimming pool - what was that about?

I liked parts well enough, but it really didn't go anywhere or tell you anything. I did have more fun spotting the homages to Hitchcock movies though. The Birds was an obvious one, but the most interesting to me was Marnie, which is Hitchcock's underrated movie imo.

The other Hitchock biopic of this year, 'The Girl', was considerably tighter and made a point. Watch that one in preference to this.

125. Super Troopers



This isn't bust a gut funny and there were long stretches where I didn't laugh at all, but the characters and their shenanigans are charming and fun, and it's rather enjoyable, and the third act actually improves its score but half a point.

126 Kick Ass 2

3.5/5



Whilst not as good as the first movie which is pretty much fun all the way through, this is a decent sequel. The real thing everyone wants to see in this movie, though, is Hit Girl, and we get a little too much Mindy trying not to be Hit Girl, which dampens things down a little.

However, when we see Hit Girl in action, it's super fun, and there's some great set-pieces, particularly Mindy on the van full of bad guys, Mother Russia taking out 5 police cars, and the final set piece.

Jim Carrey's Colonel Stars and Stripes is also very, very watchable, and fun while he's on screen. I also liked the lead bad guy's gang, especially Black Death and The Tumor.

Fun popcorn flick.

I havn't watched any of the animation revival of the last twenty years. Actually, thats a lie - I saw the Lion King when I was babysitting my cousins. I caught your podcast on them - you seem to have a strong positive opinion on them. I am suprised by the fact that so many adults think that they are so good. Is it just the powerful visuals and a few double level jokes? Or nostalgia?

It's definitely not the double level jokes. I think it's that the good ones have a decent story, decent songs, funny comedy secondary characters, fine vocal talent, and interesting animations. It's not nostalgia for at least some of them, because some I've never seen before - such as Lion King or Beauty and the Beast.

127 - Pocahontas

2.5/5



Eh, this one was mediocre Disney fare. I may be being a little overharsh as I going through a lot of Disney and this was clearly a weaker movie, but it just felt poor. The animation was basic (except for a few sequences), the comedy wasn't funny, and it just felt bland. The end didn't even have much emotional payoff.

I did like 2 of the songs though, the Oscar-bait one, and the one the tree sang.

Do you ever watch those old musicals? My parents loved them and some of it sort of rubbed off on me. Some of those dance numbers were incredible.

128 Hercules

3.5/5



This is a solid Disney entry, benefitting enormously from the voice work of James Woods, Danny DeVito, Rip Torn and Bobcat Goldthwaite. The script has a sly (and very clever without being showy) wit, and the love interest Meg has a more complex and darker backstory than most Disney females. The songs are fun in that Menken-Supremes-As-Greek-Chorus way, but forgettable, but the story moves along nicely and resolves well. A clear step up from the movie before it, Pocahontas.

Depends on what you mean by 'old'. I do watch some of the colour ones, mostly with Gene Kelly. Singin In The Rain is probably in my top 20 movies of all time.