Monthly Archives: July 2007

2007 | Weeks 27-28

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My quest to see 100 films that I’ve never seen before by the end of 2007 rolls on into its second half. I’ve done really pathetically in the last couple of months — my average number of films per week has dropped from 2.7 for weeks 1 to 18 to just 1.5 for weeks 19 to 26! I ain’t gonna get to the end that way… Actually, I’d hit exactly 100 by the end of the year if I carried on that way. But still, reaching ‘only’ 100 when I was more on track to hit 150 does seem like a slight disappointment.

Anyway, things do continue, and I think I’ve seen a pretty respectable number of films for these two weeks. Will the giddy heights of six films each in weeks 8, 12, 13 and 14 ever be reproduced? (And, by-the-by, that’s six films on average across 12 and 13 — the exact number from 13 was higher, but I can’t remember what it was. Though I’m sure no one else cares for such boring information…)

So, that said:

A couple of Oscar-winners crop up this time round, as we move through the first few weeks of July (the 2nd to the 15th, to be precise).

#61 Capote

#62 Ocean’s Twelve

#63 Monster

#64 Ringers: Lord of the Fans

#65 The Woodsman

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

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2007 #60
Robert Benton | 100 mins | TV | PG

Kramer vs. KramerThe acting is what shines in this multiple-Oscar-winning custody drama. Troubled wife Meryl Streep leaves husband Dustin Hoffman within the first five or so minutes (today she probably wouldn’t leave ’til the end of the first act) and suddenly busy, work-driven daddy has to look after their young son all on his lonesome.

I personally didn’t find the later courtroom scenes quite as edge-of-your-seat intense as some have, but you can’t fault the abilities of the actors. Perhaps particularly noteworthy is the kid, played by Justin Henry, though clearly it wasn’t good enough to launch a decent career for him.

5 out of 5

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)

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2007 #59
Gore Verbinski | 168 mins | cinema | 12A / PG-13

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's EndCurse of the Black Pearl was a surprisingly great film. Dead Man’s Chest was a lacking attempt to recapture that glory. At World’s End is the worst subtitle of all three, but mixed in quality.

The first half hour is great fun, but then it gets weird, adds in hefty doses of over-complex plotting, and drags along fairly slowly until it finds an exciting climax a little late on. It’s not all bad — beautiful to look at, with some of the most impressive CGI ever, and there’re some good action scenes.

In the end it’s the attempts to drag what was an entertaining fantasy action film to the mythological levels of Lord of the Rings that has made both sequels inferior to the first offering.

3 out of 5

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

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2007 #58
Ang Lee | 131 mins | DVD | U / PG

Sense and SensibilityA host of familiar British faces turn up in this Oscar-winning adaptation of the Austen-novel-with-the-name-like-Pride-and-Prejudice-only-not. Fans of any of the following will love this film: Jane Austen, costume drama in general, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Kate Winslet.

For the rest of us, there’s still lots of enjoyment to be had. Austen’s plots may be virtually identical and you might be able to spy the endings almost from the start, but there’s fun to be had getting there. Hugh Laurie’s small supporting role is particularly worthy of mention.

4 out of 5

2007 | Weeks 24-26

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In case you’ve forgotten, and can’t work it out from the title, I’m trying to see at least 100 films that I’ve never seen before by the end of 2007. That’s an average of eight per month, donchaknow; or two per week. I’m well on target.

And, I’m halfway through! For anyone who can’t remember how many weeks there are in a year… well, there’s 52; and half of 52 is 26; and the week of June 25th is week 26 of 2007, meaning that July 1st is just about halfway through the year (though, to be precise, there’s actually 52 weeks and one day in a year… well, actually, 52 weeks, one day and a quarter day… anyway…)

I passed the numerical halfway point (i.e. 50 films) way back in week 19 — clearly I’ve not been doing as well in the past 7 weeks! At all. Oh dear oh dear…

Exams may be long over and holidays may be on, but combine the odd bits of good TV filling days and evenings with a commitment to completing Script Frenzy, and you wind up seeing less films than you might expect. A lot less, as it turns out — just three in three whole weeks. Still, I’m currently well on track to pass 100 by the end of the year anyway. Shiny.

And as has become standard practice, I’ll handily remind you that this entry is covering films seen between 11th June and 1st July.

#58 Sense and Sensibility

#59 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

#60 Kramer vs. Kramer